Heart of the Totetsu
by BlazeDrgn
Summary: My first fan fic... ah well, attention mostly on Tchan, he's my fave. TChan is the only one of his kind in America, and with none of his own kind around, will his heart be drawn to someone of another race? Completed! for now...
1. Family from California

Heart of the Totetsu:

Authors note: I do not own Pet Shop of Horrors! Wish I did but I don'tL. However I do own Kiarina Leon's niece and James (I'm mentioning him now even though he doesn't show up until a later chapter…). Anyway! This fan fic is rated R for possible rape scenes later and for always Leon's foul mouth. This is my first fan fic so please review, but no flames I will only toast marshmallows on them. I know my stuffs not that good, there's no reason to tell me, just tell me what to improve on please.

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Count D walked around his shop, a tea tray in one hand, a dish of sweets in the other. It was tea time at the pet shop. All the animals had gathered around waiting for tea or a snack. 

"Hey that's my snack!" 

"Its mine now, ha-ha!" 

"Count!" whined the young calico "he stole my snack!" the count scolded lightly while leaning towards the calico girl offering her the snack tray "well then take another" he said, slight exasperation in his voice, but the casual smile never left his face. Placing the tea tray down he used his free hand to brush a few stray strands of his black hair out of his face before passing a cup of tea to a young boy who reached for it eagerly. T-chan was in his usual place, hiding beneath the table.

"Hey Count's, you in?" Leon called from the front of the shop. 

"Ah my dear detective, you are just in time for some tea." He said smiling up at Leon. As he poured a cup for the detective he looked over at the clock on the wall. "You're usually not here at this time of the day my dear detective, or did you decide to visit me on your lunch break?" Leon snorted and sat down on one of the more empty couches, 

"It just so happens I have the day off today. My niece is flying over from California. She's got some kind of tournament she's participating in and the next bits held here."

The Count frowned slightly; Leon was the only person he could recall that would forget something that seemed important about a family member. But then Leon was only one of the few people whom D had gotten to know well, even if he still thought Leon could be a closed minded fool. Raising a small strawberry tart to his lips, he paused his hand for a moment then asked before taking a bite "And what is the name of your niece detective?"

"Her name is Kiarina, she's 20 years old." Leon said between sips of tea and keeping his cup away from the animals that chose to gather around him.

D finished the tart in his hands then a second before answering, "Will she be staying in you lovely apartment detective?" he asked with a mild tone of interest and a hint of sarcastic teasing. Leon frowned looking at the Count "not that it would matter now that you've torn down most of my posters. And no, she's renting her own apartment; she just doesn't have a ride from the airport to the hotel so I offered her a lift." The Count gave his usual small smile. "That was kind of you detective." Leon gave a small half shrug, "yeah well…" looking away Leon got to his feet being sure not to step on any of the animals that had gathered around to also partake of the snacks and tea the Count had set out. He still didn't get why the Count treated the animals like people. "I'm off to the airport." He said idly, leaving the Count to wonder if that was a hint of embarrassment in his dear detective's voice. "I shall see you another time then, perhaps with your niece too."

            "That'll be the day!" Leon almost shouted back at the Count as he walked out. "With all the fucking crap you have around here, along with that bloody sheep thing that's always trying to eat me what makes you think I'd let her come here?!" With that he slammed the pet shop door behind him. "Why don't you let me devour him?" T-chan asked curiously "I'm sure he won't be so bad with some curry powder and saffron" he said, bearing his teeth in a hopeful grin. He sat on the sofa now, looking like a human with sheep horns coming out of his wild dark copper orange hair. "No T-chan, we must not eat the nice police man, he has proved to be helpful before and he may do so again." T-chan just simply gave a small disappointed whine before walking off to another part of the shop wondering what to eat if he could not eat Leon.

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Ok that's the start of it! My first chapter yay! *throws confetti gaining odd looks from the animals at the shop* what? Can't I be happy? I shall be happy whether the story is bad or not so there! *walks off happy* sorry if it was a bit short it was my first try, R&R please!


	2. Seeing old faces and meeting new ones in...

Authors note: Again, I own nothing! Except for Kiarina and James who doesn't show up until later… Anyway! Thanks to Dilandau2 for your review! Onward to the second chapter!

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Leon stood at the gateway terminal where flight 17 would be landing. The flight had been delayed for about 15 minutes for some stupid reason or another. Fisting his hands into his pockets he looked over to the door where the passengers would be exiting. It was almost seven when people from the flight began to walk out. _Finally_… Leon thought to himself as he walked over to look for his niece. Seeing her he raised his hand, waved it widely and called out "Hey Kiarina! Kiarina over here!" he yelled smiling gaining a few odd looks from some of the other people waiting for their friends or family members. A tall girl about 5"5 turned and waved "Uncle Leon!" Hosting her blue backpack up on her shoulder she walked over to where Leon was. Her hair was a golden brown, only slightly past her shoulders, her eyes were a darker brown that almost seemed black. She wore a pair of casual pair of dark green jeans, a lighter green shirt with short sleeves and a pair of black worn sneakers. Throwing her free arm around her uncle she gave him a brief hug. 

"Uncle Leon it's good to see you again. Thanks for coming to get me, with all this jet-lag I doubt I would've been able to hail a taxi" she said smiling. Leon looked down at his niece as he wrapped an arm over her shoulders to steer her to the baggage claim section, she looked very tired. He grinned and commented,

 "I'll say… you've certainly seemed to have lost your little spark of usual energy. Now I forget… what was it that you came over here for again?" Kiarina grinned and shook her head "Uncle Leon your impossible" she said as they stopped to watch the bags slide onto the metal round about looking for her two suitcases. "I came here because there is a fencing tournament taking place near china town, and I'm competing remember?"

"Oh right…" Leon muttered. Sword fighting is something out of an old history book, he thought to himself, she'd probably fit right in at Count D's shop with all the antiques he has there… Shaking his head furiously he again refused to take Kiarina there. Not only might she fit in there, but his niece had a love of animals, from rats and mice to the ones you only find in mythology books. He was almost willing to bet she could probably name every type of animal in the counts shop! Not only that… but those pets where dangerous…

"Umm… Uncle Leon are you ok?" Kiarina asked looking up at him slightly worried. She had said something to him and he had completely missed it, not only that but he had been shaking his head like a dog trying to shed water from its coat.

"Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine" he said grinning at her while trying to hide his slight embarrassment. He looked to the luggage bags "So which ones are ours?"

"They're just plain black ones but I put a blue ribbon on the handle of each of them so I could tell which ones were mine."

"Alright then… you go get one of those carts…" he said hading her a few quarters to pay to borrow one "it'll make it a lot easier, and I'll grab your bags." Kiarina nodded and did just that. As they were walking to Leon's car they chatted about recent stuff, Kiarina about college and her fencing, and Leon about his cases while trying hard not to bring up D and his shop. While driving down the road to the apartment complex Kiarina was going to stay, the car began to stall "Aw crap." Leon muttered not wanting to wake Kiarina who had fallen asleep almost at once after she'd gotten into the car. Only just managing to get the car to the curb he looked around to see where they had stopped. China town. Of all the God damn blasted places! Leon yelled mentally while hitting his head against the steering wheel. Checking his cell phone he found there was no reception. When it rains it pours, he thought to himself with a sigh. Well… he mused to himself, maybe the Count has a phone or something I can use among all that antique junk of his, and Kiarina will be fine here. That settled he got out of the car as quietly as he could manage as he walked over to the pet store. Looking at his watch he saw it was only 8:15, the shop didn't close till about nine so at least he wouldn't be waking anyone up he thought idly to himself.

*

            Kiarina sat up slightly and blinked tiredly. As she let out a tired yawn she noticed that the car had stopped. "Are we here Leon?" Looking beside her she noticed her Leon wasn't there. Looking around she saw him walking into a shop. Where's he going? She wondered. Looking up at the sign she noticed it was a pet shop. Oh I want to have a look, she thought to herself tiredly. She got out of the car, making sure to lock it behind her she walked over to the store rubbing her eyes as she went not wanting to look all sleepy eyed. Walking into the shop she looked around eagerly wondering what kinds of pets this shop had. To her dismay all she saw were people, oddly dressed people at that. She saw one girl dressed as a rabbit, another dressed in a yellow black spotted outfit like a panther that also sported a tail and ears. She felt slightly disappointed as she looked around to see if she could find where the animals where.

            "Well now you must be Kiarina." Said a casual, smug male voice from behind her.

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Gaaah! I know I know! Short, and ending in a bad spot. I dunno I just wanted to end it there… he he. Anyway I'll have the next chapter up soon but maybe not until I get a few reviews. Or maybe I'll just be my impatient self and put up another chapter anyway… only time will tell! Until then, please R&R!


	3. Meeting Tchan and D

Authors note: Nope, still don't own Pet Shop of Horrors! Also, I thought I wasn't getting any reviews because my story wasn't any good. Then someone told me it was because I had it set to not accepting anonymous reviews. When the heck did that happen?! Well I turned it off so it should accept all reviews now… it better *scowls at the computer* anyway! This is my third chapter. Its longer and hopefully more interesting than the first two, hope you enjoyJ. Oh and if I haven't turned the thing off that blocks anonymous reviews ummm… e-mail me to let me know and tell me how if I haven't done it right… thanks!

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Turning around Kiarina came face to face with a young man who looked to be about her age who looked just as strangely dressed as the other people she saw in the shop. Taking him in a quick glance she saw he was bare foot and wore a pair of long fabric pants that were a dark rusty iron in color. He wore a simple light orange open tunic with no shirt under it. His hair was long and slightly wild, and was the color of red and pink streaks. The thing she found the most interesting about his appearance was the two golden-yellow sheep like horns coming from his head. And his eyes… he must be wearing contacts, she thought to herself, for his eyes were like golden cat eyes.

He leaned over slightly to bring his eyes level to hers, his face now only a few inches away, a mischievous grin on his face "Don't worry too much though I'm sure you'll taste just fine in my stew."

Stew? She thought to herself, what the heck is this guy talking about? She wondered to herself. Not too sure if she liked his idea of her being turned into a stew or not or to take him seriously for that matter, she decided to mirror him, something she usually did when she wasn't sure what to do in a conversation she didn't like. She gave the same mischievous grin as she leaned one inch closer to him "well now I'm sorry Mr. Lector but I'm afraid I'm not that tasty with carrots and potatoes, I might be alright with parsnip and some Italian salad dressing but that's about it I think." He looked at her blankly, taken by surprise he just stood there looking at her kinda dumbfounded. She gave a small smile before she turned and walked away from him to look at the rest of the shop to see if she could find where the animals might be.

*

T-chan just stood there for a moment watching her walk away. Ok she can obviously see me, he thought, but what the hell was she talking about parsnip and salad dressing for?? How would she know what she tasted like? He wondered to himself as he walked off to a different part of the shop where she wasn't muttering inaudibly to himself.

*

Seeing the girl walk in D smiled and walked over to her "welcome young lady to my pet shop, my name is Count D. Is there any animal in particular that you are looking for?" he asked kindly as Q-chan fluttered over to rest on D's shoulder. Kiarina smiled at D "actually I saw my uncle Leon come in here just a moment ago, and I wanted to come in and take a look at the animals you have here rather than wait in the car." D blinked looking curious for a moment then smiled in recollection

"Ah yes you must be Kiarina, Leon told me about you when he stopped by earlier." Kiarina hid a blank look, Leon hadn't mentioned this man before, but then again he probably hadn't filled her in on everything that had happened since she spoke, maybe he just hadn't gotten to telling her about D yet. As D waved his hand around motioning to all the other people there he asked "So what do you think? I have a wide variety of different animals here…" Kiarina looked around to where the Count was motioning to see if she could spot the animals he was talking about

"Ummm… I'm sorry but all I see are people dressed as animals… are you animals behind them or…." She said trailing off at the end as she looked around. She can see them? The count looked at her surprised. 

"They're all interesting costumes though, lots of detail." She said as she looked them over with marvel. The count was about to say something more but was cut short by Leon coming back from using the phone.

"Hey thanks for letting me use your phone count, I'm surprised you even had one among all these antiques." He said walking over to the count grinning at his comment. Noticing Kiarina there the smile quickly fell from his face. "Kiarina… what are you doing in here?" he asked seemingly slightly worried. D frowned slightly, it seemed that Leon hadn't intended on letting Kiarina know anything about him or his shop. That stung D a bit, but he said nothing.

"Well I wanted to see what kind of animals where in the shop, you know how much I love animals…" Leon nodded but still looked slightly worried which confused Kiarina. Why is he worried? Is there something wrong about this shop?

"Anyway let's go wait for the mechanic outside, they said they were sending someone right away…"

"Umm… ok." Kiarina said a bit disappointed. She smiled and waved to D "It was nice meeting you." She said cheerfully.

"It was nice to meet you too Kiarina, perhaps you will stop by again and stay for tea?" he asked placing his hands in his sleeves he gave a small polite bow.

"Oh that would be great …"

"Yes ok let's go now." Leon said sounding slightly irritated. He took Kiarina's wrist to make sure she followed instead of lingering behind. D frowned at Leon's actions. He opened his mouth as if to say something but then closed it deciding against it knowing it wouldn't do any good for the moment. As Kiarina gave D one last wave good bye she looked around the shop again to see if she could spot any animals before she left. All she noticed was a pair of golden cat eyes watching her leave. Knowing it was the boy who talked to her when she first entered she grinned and gave a small mock bow before turning to follow her uncle out the door.

*

T-chan left his hiding spot to walk over to D growling. "Something on your mind T-chan?" D asked as he offered him a tray of chocolate truffles. T-chan shook his head at the offered treats.

"That human girl was strange." he said with a slight growl still in his throat.

"Why do you say that?" D asked curiously, popping one of the truffles into his mouth.

"When she came in I said she'd taste good in a stew." He gave a slight grin while D frowned.

"Now T-chan that wasn't very nice…"

"And she said that she didn't think she'd taste good in a stew but with parsnip and Italian salad dressing!" D stared at him for a moment then burst out laughing. "What's so funny?!" T-chan demanded as the count rested both hands across his stomach holding it as he continued laughing. 

"Oh my dear T-chan," D managed between giggles. "It seems you've been outdone."

"What?!?" He asked sounding outraged. Outdone by a human?! And a female at that! T-chan stormed off bristling leaving D to laugh. Walking over to the couch he curled underneath it to try and sleep hoping to shut out the counts laughter at him. Who's Mr. Lector? He thought to himself before he fell asleep, that's what she called me… I wonder why…? Not being able to think of an answer he simply fell asleep deciding that he'd simply ask D in the morning.

*

They arrived at her apartment at around ten at night. By now jet lag was hitting Kiarina hard; she barely managed her backpack and a suit case to the elevator. Entering her new apartment she simply dumped her stuff in the living room and motioned Leon to do the same with the suitcase he was carrying. Yawning widely she looked about her apartment with dead tired eyes.

            "I suggest you get some sleep." Leon said smiling giving her a light push in the direction of the bedroom just incase she decided to just fall on the sofa rather than take the few extra steps to the bed. She nodded

            "Yeah that sounds good. Thank you for coming to get me again Uncle Leon and for helping me up with my stuff…" she said tiredly as she hugged him.

            "No prob." He said returning her hug, "Now get to sleep… you must be exhausted, you said you didn't get a chance to sleep on the flight, so go make up for it and sleep in tomorrow." Kiarina grinned.

            "Alright Leon, I'll see you tomorrow or something." She said as she turned and walked towards the bedroom as Leon called goodnight to her before leaving closing and locking the door behind him. She pulled off her boots and threw herself onto the beg hugging one of the pillows close. She was too tired for pajamas. As she closed her eyes, she saw the face of the golden cat eyed man from the store. I wonder what his name is… she wondered, he seemed a bit odd but he did look kinda cute even with the horns. She gave a small grin as she fell asleep thinking about him and if he would be there the next time she visited the shop.

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Ok I think I've gone from too short to too long… I'm sorry! ::bows apologetically::: as for T-Chan's description I got it from a pic I found on the net. If this isn't how he looks please tell me, or if you want the link to the pic please tell me and I'll send it to you. Oh as for the stars that keep showing up * I use them when changing POV. But I'm not sure I'm doing it right… sorry I'm trying I'm sure I'll get it right eventually… until then please R&R!


	4. a bit of practice, then back to the shop

Authors Note: Thank you everyone for your reviews! :-D that's three more than I expected to get. *happy* As to weather or not this is a D/T-Chan fic, well I had that thought first. Since if T-Chan isn't taking a bite out of Leon or hiding somewhere, he's on D's lap or D's carrying him around somewhere, and then there's Dessert in book three… but anyway I tried to think of this as a d/t fic but I decided not. Sorry if I've disappointed any readers… I'm not against the whole guy/guy thing; this is just how my fan fic's going to go :). Anyway… I still don't own pet shop of horrors! As much as I would like to… I only own Kiarina and… no I'm only going to mention the others as they come. Until then… chapter four!

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            Kiarina woke late the next day. Rolling over she looked at the clock beside her bed, noticing it was midday she slipping off the bed and walked out into the living room where she and Leon had left her luggage. Pulling out a change of clothes and her bath things she took a long hot shower hoping to wash away the cobwebs from her mind while muttering to herself about jetlag. That done, she decided to go get some shopping done so that she'd have something to eat later. She had one foot out the door before she groaned in remembrance that she wasn't home and that she had no idea where any shops were. Walking back in, she tossed her bag on the couch before flopping down in a chair. She sighed closing her eyes for a moment before reaching over to grab the phone, her other hand pausing over the numbers for a moment as she tried to remember her uncles phone number. After a moment she remembered, punched in the numbers, and hoped that she wasn't calling at a bad time.

            "Hey Uncle Leon… Hey it's me Kiarina… listen I'm in a bit of a fix… would you mind driving me around a bit so I know where things are over here I'm kinda at a loss I don't know where anything is… yeah food shops and all those things… I'm going to rent a car but there's no point in that yet until I know where I'm going… at what time? Ok thanks Uncle Leon, bye." She put the phone back down smiling. Leon said he'd come over after work to show her around so that she'd have an idea of where everything was. She started playing with her hair while she wondered what there was to do before Leon came later. Looking at the suitcases in front of her she sighed getting to her feet. Time to unpack, she thought to herself. Along with clothes and other normal things she had also brought her foil, the type of sword used for fencing, and her body suit, mask and gloves. Unfortunately she had also brought her work from her other college classes. Just because she was away for a tournament didn't mean she got a break from her other classes. She dropped her thick books on the counter checking them off making sure they were all there while silently wishing she had left them behind. Math, philosophy, psychology, English, and speech, all here… bummer, she thought to herself.

            "Oh well not right now…" she said to herself. She walked over to take her foil carefully from its casing. She also had the other blades; the epee and saber, but she always practiced with the foil first. Taking the cloth that was inside, she carefully polished the blade down from tip to pommel making sure there was no metal fatigue. Once that was done she moved the small coffee table from the middle of the room off to one side. That done she now had a reasonable strip of floor to work with. Placing her back foot horizontal to the other she began a series of drills and techniques with her foil moving forward and back on the small amount of space she had made for herself. As she moved from the basic parries and lunges, she moved on to more complicated techniques. Swirling her foil around in a half-circle then followed in a second strike, completing the two parts of the 'Crescent moon drill." True this technique was more than out of date and something that was more used in medieval times, but she didn't really care. She had studied fencing arts and sword play from her teachers to history books that talked about knights and duals of olden days. Once she repeated the process with the other two blades she packed them both away and moved the table back to where it was.

            Brushing a few stray stands of hair behind her ear she looked at the clock. Her exercizes had taken her to three o'clock. Sighing she grabbed the empty water bottle from her bag, walking over to the kitchen sink she refilled it then raised it to her lips draining half of the lukewarm water before refilling it again and sticking it in the fridge so that she'd have cool water to drink later. Walking back into the living room she lay down on the couch wondering what time Leon got off work. Her efforts combined with some still lingering effects of jet lag caused her to drift off into a light sleep where she lay

*

The pet shop was in its usual atmosphere of incense and animal chatter. D had sold one baby ball python, along with food, to a man who intended to give it to his son as a present. To a young teenage girl who had said she hoped to become a singer he sold a nightingale with a promise that the birds sweet song would help inspire the girl and help her fulfill her dream. The girl thanked the count and waved goodbye before going back to holding the cage she had gotten along with the bird with both hands. Turning back to the shop D smiled at Q-Chan as he flew over to rest on D's shoulder.

"It's been quite a day now hasn't it?" D asked. Q-Chan chattered in agreement. Looking around at everyone he noticed there was someone he did not see, in fact someone he had not seen all day. Raising a finger to his lips in though D first went over to the coffee table, looking underneath he only found two calico girls fast asleep together. D next walked over to the couch, kneeling down he looked underneath. He smiled when he found a pair of yellow glaring eyes looking back at him.

"Why here you are T-Chan, come on out and have some tea…you've been under there since last night haven't you?" T-Chan simply gave a low growl in reply and did not move.

"Oh come now T-Chan, don't be so prideful over something so silly, come out and have some cake. I've got the nicest fruit cream cake with glaze…" T-Chan snorted cutting D off. D looked at T-Chan with a simple smug smile on his face.

"Hey D?"

"Yes T-Chan"

"Do you know anyone called 'Lector?'" D frowned in thought for a moment before replying.

"No I am sure I don't, why do you ask?" he asked his voice cool but kind.

"When I talked to Kiarina yesterday, she called me 'Mr. Lector.'"

"There was probably a reason for it, we shall ask Leon or Kiarina when next they visit us, but for now come and have some of this chocolate mousse…" D continued to talk about the mousse as he got up and backed away from the couch to give T-Chan room to come out if he wished. T-Chan paused for a moment then decided he was hungry; he got out from his spot under the couch with ease from practice he then followed D arms folded over his chest.

"What's up with you grumpy-guts?" called out a boy dressed in chocolate brown pants with the same colored hair, as he ran over to T-Chan smiling up at him. T-Chan just growled at the boy still irritated from being laughed at by D from the day before. The boy, unfazed by T-Chan's mood simply smiled up at him before running off to wrestle with some of the other puppies.

*

Leon came over at around six waking her up from her sleep. She ran her fingers tiredly through her hair as she opened the door letting Leon in.

"Hey Kiarina, sorry I couldn't come sooner, I'm working on a case at the moment… hey you got everything unpacked?" Kiarina smiled up at Leon.

"Yep, and got in a bit of practice too *yawn* but how I pulled it off I'm not too sure." Leon grinned at her.

"Boy do you look tired… sure you don't want to leave this to another time?" she shook her head

"Oh no, plus I'm hungry I'm going to need to stock up on food you know. Also can you show me how to get to china town?" Kiarina missed the worried look on Leon's face as she walked over to the couch to grab her bag slinging it over her neck and on to her shoulder.

"Why do you want to go to China town?" He asked trying to hide the worry in his voice as he asked her. He had wanted instead to demand her not to go, but then she'd just be curious as to why and want to go even more, so he tried a different approach. Kiarina gave a small shrug.

"Well they usually sell certain spices and things you can't get in a supermarket. Plus China town's like an untouched part of the past…" she said eyes shining. Leon gave an inward sigh. That's how his niece was; one foot in the present the other in the past, part of her mind in the reality of the world while the other in myths legends and any other fantasy world.

"Ummm… sure, I suppose…" He said reluctantly, I'll just avoid D's pet shop… but then again that might be pointless… he thought to himself. About to start whacking himself over the head and start yelling to himself about mind control horror flicks and people who were animals who where people when Kiarina tugged on his arm.

"Come on Uncle Leon, lets go before I get hit with jet lag again." she said smiling up at him as she practically pulled him out the door.

Leon drove around to various shops pointing out the street names so that she could find her way back again. The got out at the food store so that Kiarina could get some food supplies for her apartment. Leon purposefully took his time showing her around hoping that D's pet store would be closed by the time they got there or that Kiarina would be too tired and want to go home. Unfortunately Kiarina seemed to have gotten an energy boost from somewhere and seemed wide awake and full of energy. It didn't take long for them to reach China town, despite Leon's efforts, Leon parked the car and the two of them walked around with Kiarina mainly leading the way as she weaved from one shop to another distracted from one thing by another she was constantly turning her head this way and that as if she'd miss something in the instant she'd turned her head to look another way.

"Keep that up and your head will fall off," Leon joked calling out to her "Either that or you'll eyes will fall out of your head." She simply turned full around to look at him poking her tongue out at him making a joking face not taking him seriously; she then smiled and turned back around. Leon knew it was only a matter of time till they reached the pet shop, and oddly enough Kiarina's zigzag walking led them straight there. Leon didn't think too much of it, they were bound to end up there sooner or later. He gave a small sigh before walking into the shop.

"Hey D, you about?" he called looking around

"Ah my dear detective, your just in time for some tea I believe, and you've brought your niece Kiarina too I see it is good to see you again." He said to Kiarina giving a small bow. Kiarina gave a small smile as she bowed in return,

"It's good to be here again." She said looking at D for a moment before her eyes began to wander looking around wondering why the only animals she could seem to find were the ones the people were dressed up as. D walked over to the aria he had set up with a coffee table and couches for sitting on. Kiarina turned around to greet some of the people who had called out in greeting to her. Looking at her Leon frowned but didn't think it too odd that his niece was talking to animals, any time he'd seen her around animals she'd say 'hi' to then look at them as if waiting a response. Leon sat down on the couch without looking only to jump to his feet fast in a howl of pain.

"GODDAMN FRIGGEN GOAT!" Leon yelled as he tried to detach the goat looking thing from his leg. Turning around quickly at Leon's shouts Kiarina saw the horned boy from before with his teeth attached to Leon's leg while D simply fussed telling Leon to calm down while Leon yelled that it wasn't his fault while dancing around trying to shake and pull the guy off at the same time. Kiarina paused, but only for a moment and with purpose. The moment her Uncle swung himself about leaving the boys back to her she lunged forward slipping her arms under his armpits bringing them up then behind his head locking her fingers together in one smooth motion. Tightening her arms slightly while moving them back a bit caused T-Chan to loose his hold.

"What the fuck!?" T-Chan yelled while trying to swing himself around to attack whoever was behind him. Kiarina simply shifted her feet and pushed herself along so that she remained behind him while keeping him in her head lock at the same time. D watched the whole thing with a straight slightly amused face for a moment before bursting into a fit of laughter. T-Chan went red with embarrassment and fury. Snarling he leapt to his feet only causing Kiarina to come up behind him at almost the same time. T-Chan whirled this way and that trying to get at the person behind him to no luck. Finally, when Kiarina was done with his efforts she wrapped her ankles on the other side of his leaning on him for support for a brief moment as she did so before pulling her feet back taking T-Chan's feet out from under him in the process, the two fell forward sharply with a smack. T-Chan fell face first into the floor since Kiarina still had his arms and head in a lock and was unable to stop his fall. Kiarina looked down at the back of his head and waited where she was on his back to see if he planned to make any more attempts. She waited for a second before asking,

"Do you give up?" She asked. T-Chan growled recognizing the voice. 'You've been out done T-Chan' D's previous comment replayed in his mind. And again it would seem he thought miserably to himself. D was still in a fit of laughter at what had just happened while Leon just stood there smiling an amused look on his face. Since he only saw the people as animals all he had seem was Kiarina successfully restraining the small sheep like thing. T-Chan muttered something into the floor that Kiarina didn't catch. Leaning forward slightly tiling her head to one side to hear better she asked him to repeat what he had just said.

"He said he gives." D managed as he gasped for air as he tried to regain his usual cool calm state. Kiarina got off T-Chan carefully then offered him her hand to help him up. Looking at the hand he snorted then got to his feet on his own. He glared at Kiarina as she simply gave him an innocent smile. About to snap or walk off he remembered that he had wanted to ask her something.

"Who's Lector?" he asked trying to keep the annoyed snarl out of his voice

"Hm? Oh you mean from yesterday?" T-Chan nodded "Well I didn't know your name, and since you said you wanted to eat me I remembered this name from this movie called 'Silence of the Lambs', I've only seen the beginning, but in the beginning there was this man called Hannibal Lector, his nick name was Hannibal the cannibal 'cause he used to eat people." T-Chan gave a small grin as he started to understand.

"And so because I gave the idea that I wanted to eat you, you called me Lector after that guy right?" Kiarina nodded

"Exactly, but I would like to know your real name, especially since you already know mine."

"T-Chan"

"Nice to meet you T-Chan"

"Yeah whatever… where did you learn that stuff anyway?" he asked looking at her curiously as the two of them walked over to where Leon and D had already sat down to have something to eat and drink. Leon argued with D over something or another while Kiarina talked to T-Chan and any other of the animal dressed people till long after D turned the open sign over.

"All good things must come to an end I'm afraid." He said looking at Leon and Kiarina "it has gotten very late and I'm afraid I must close up and put most of my animals to bed" looking at Kiarina he smiled "I'm glad you were able to come again and stay for longer, I hope you manage it again soon." Kiarina smiled back and nodded.

"I'd really like that I had a lot of fun, bye D bye everyone!" she called out waving to the others in the shop who called goodbye and waved back. This time it was Leon's turn to drag Kiarina away and back to the car. She fell asleep on the drive back while Leon mused over how much she seemed to like D and his shop along with all the animals there. Remembering how easily it seemed she had gotten the goat creature under control he smiled, his niece could take care of herself… so she wasn't too likely to get into any trouble or danger… with that in mind he decided to give up on ever keeping Kiarina from D's shop. And besides, he thought to himself, since she knows so much about animals and other things she'd be quick to tell me if anything bad was going on down there. That settled he pulled up at the apartments and woke Kiarina up and helped her carry her shopping up.

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Ahh it's so long! I'm sorry! *bows apologetically* I didn't expect this chapter to be so long I hope its ok… :( . But then again in the beginning I thought my chapters were too short, and now too long… oh well hopefully I'll find the middle ground or something. Until then… please R&R! I love getting reviews they always inspire me to write more and put up more chapters! Even if it's just one :). Till the next chapter!


	5. an unfortunet encounter

Authors Note: Well thanks to mid-terms in college and two jobs it took me a bit longer to get around to writing a chapter five. But mid-terms are done and I've got spring break! And time to write this next chapter. Ummm… don't own pet shop of horrors or its characters… I only own Kiarina, and a few other random people I might throw in. Oh and James, I own him too. But anyway… here is chapter five!

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About two weeks had passed since Kiarina had first arrived. She managed to rent a car without trouble and drove around frequently enjoying her free time, when she had it, enjoying her visit. One of the places she liked to visit often was D's pet shop. She felt strange just stopping by at first since she wasn't buying anything, but D and the others reassured her that she was welcome to simply stop by anytime. She had made some good friends with some of the strange people there, though she no longer thought of them as strange, that was simply how they dressed and she thought that was cool. D especially began enjoying Kiarina's visits when she started bringing round some of the sweets she had cooked at home for them to try. She told D that sweets were one of the few things she could cook, when it came to dinner it usually had to be something that just needed heating up or take out, but D told her not to worry and that being able to cook tasty sweets were more important. One Thursday afternoon Kiarina had decided to take a walk through a local park. She smiled as she walked down the foot path looking around while her mind was elsewhere.

"Hey Kiarina! Hey!" she heard a voice call out cheerfully from behind her. Hm? She thought to herself, hang on that's not… turning around she saw a boy about her age trotting up to her quickly while waving his arm frantically above him in an effort to get her attention. He was barely taller than her with brown hair in a bowl cut and brown eyes. He wore a pair of blue jeans, a black shirt and a dark blue jacket. All the clothes looked too big for his small wiry frame. She forced a small friendly smile as she waved back.

"Hi James, what are you doing here?" she said in a friendly voice. He stopped just a few feet in front of her and grinned at her.

"Oh just enjoying a nice day… oh you mean why am I not in Cali? Oh right…" Kiarina snorted in her mind, of course I meant Cali why would I mean here in the park, despite her thoughts she still managed to keep a friendly smile and nod.

"Ah yes well my Aikido tournament seems to be being held in the same city as your fencing, isn't that great?" he asked flashing her another grin. Oh that's just bloody fantastic, she thought to herself.

"Of course." She simply said. She believed just because she didn't like the guy didn't mean she had to be mean to him, however she did shift her feet to point away from him as if she simply wanted to keep walking because she had somewhere to get to.

"Lets walk and talk shall we?" he said as he started to walk in the direction he had seen her going in before. She gave a mental sigh before following as she thought of excuses to leave without making it possible for him to offer to come with.

"So tell me Kiarina, have a boy friend yet?" he asked as he turned his head to look at her.

"No I don't." she said simply eyes forward.

"Aw I would've thought that a sweet, cute little thing like you would have a great boy friend right now." He said in a sweet flirting voice. Oh gods, she thought, don't you dare start.

"How's your girlfriend doing?" she asked James trying to change the subject and remind him that he was already taken.

"Oh she's doing well I guess" he said sounding uninterested.

"But back to you how are you doing? Enjoying everything before the tournament gets underway?"

"Yep." She said giving a small nod, her mind still working on how to get away.

"Well I hate to leave you but I have to be off." She said turning to smile at him

"Aw really, why? I've got nothing to do for the rest of the day why don't I tag along? I'm sure a big strong guy like me can help with your plans in some way." He said smiling at her hopefully. She almost laughed out right. Big? Strong? He was barely taller than her! And he certainly didn't look strong or have any muscles on his thin arms. Plus she knew he wasn't kidding, he did think he was big and strong. While she had never seen him lift anything big or heavy or fight or anything… she was still sure she'd seen twigs that looked stronger than him. She had a hard time thinking of some one with a bigger ego than James.

"Oh no that's alright I've just got to go to" she paused for the briefest moment as she thought up something "Take my rental car back then I'm going to find out where the fencing tournament is going to be taking place so I can see what its like. Nothing special really." James made an 'hmmm' sound as he seemed to contemplate this while trying to seem interested at the same time.

"That's a good idea about checking out the tournament place, I think I'll check out where mines going to be so I can tell you, then you can come watch and cheer me on!"

"Well then I must be off," she began to turn to walk away bet before she could take a step away from him he stepped in front of her

"Don't I get a hug first?" he asked. Before she could answer he wrapped his arms around her hugging her close before releasing her.

"Till I see you again." He said grinning as he turned and walked away.

"Bye."  She called back before turning to walk away at a quick pace trying to resist the urge to try and wipe his touch off of her. He was always the same each time she ran into him, so full of himself. When he had told her about his girl friend it had sounded like he was saying she should be lucky to have him and then he flirted with her. At first she thought he wasn't serious but after a while it had become obvious that he wasn't joking. She hadn't been paying much attention to where she was going so quickly, and when she did finally decide to look up to see where her feet had decided to take her she found that she had just reached the outskirts of Chinatown. She smiled gratefully; a visit to the Count was just what she needed. A talk with the people there and some of the Counts soothing tea's and she'd feel a lot better. She walked down the streets as if she had done so her whole life, finding the shortest rout while still looking at all the passing shops with interest. As she got to the shop she opened the door and looked around and called out loudly,  
            "Hey Count D, hey everyone!" she smiled as her friends came and greeted her eagerly along with the other people who seemed to be out today. It was last week when she found out that there was a back part to the store that seemed to go on forever where even more people stayed. Some never left their rooms in the back while others came up to the front from time to time.

"Hello Kiarina, it's nice to see you on this fine day, would you like some tea?" D offered with a smile "I also have a nice mousse cake that was just made today."

"That would be great" she said in between greetings and asking how everyone was "actually I don't mean to sound picky but you wouldn't happen to have any calming tea?" she asked as she followed the Count while others also followed her still talking to her as she turned and kept talking to them after she had asked. D had found it interesting how Kiarina seemed to manage to talk to one person while hearing the reply of someone else she was talking to and then turn to talk to them like one big group conversation where Kiarina seemed to be in the middle receiving it all and somehow talk to almost anyone who was talking around her at once.

"Why yes I'm sure I do, I'll pour you a cup." D said as he looked over the labels on the tea packets before selecting one and placed it in a kettle of hot water. Pouring a cup he took it over to Kiarina, who was now seated on the couch, she took the cup gratefully.

"Thanks Count I really appreciate it." She took a long sip before lowering the cup from her lips to take a breath.

"My you were ether thirsty or," he paused for a moment as he sat down on the couch on the other side of the table picking up his own cup as he looked at her a small knowing smile on his lips. "Something happened for you to need some calming tea." The way he spoke it Kiarina felt like he knew it was the latter. Even though she'd come in smiling and happy, which she was now she was surrounded by friends and away from James. She gave a small shudder as she looked down at her tea frowning slightly.

"What's with the sour look?" T-Chan asked as he sat down on the other side of the couch that Kiarina was sitting on, his voice teasing as he grinned at her. She gave a small sigh accompanied by a shrug which surprised T-Chan a bit. Usually she'd grin at him, make some comment or smile or crack some joke back at him.

"Just had a bump in my good day I guess…" she said before taking a sip of her tea.

"A bump in your day?" D asked looking at her with mild curiosity before turning to pay attention to the cake he was about to cut.

"Now what is it that could've happened for you to go all sulky all of a sudden?" T-Chan asked still grinning at her purposefully looking to start a tumble. Sometimes when she visited she and T-Chan would get into a mock fight of sorts. She'd come in and T-Chan might tackle her trying to get revenge for whatever trick she used last time to try and end the last mock fight. Kiarina narrowed her eyes slightly.

"I ran into someone who I think has to be one of the most unlikable people I've ever met or known." She said her voice sounding strange as she remembered.

"Really? Who? What was there name? What happened?" some of the people around her started asking curious as cats wanting to know what kind of a person could've managed to have gotten Kiarina upset like this. She usually was always smiling and laughing even when they could sense she felt otherwise, for her to show something other than her usual cheerfulness was new. Even if she'd just had a tumble with T-Chan and walked away with some scratches and bruises she simply smiled and laughed. Kiarina told them about James, giving them a description of what he looked like and what had happened along with why she didn't like him. D nodded as he listened, passing out cake, tea, and treats at the same time. Casting a glance at T-Chan, D noticed T-Chan with a deep frown on his face; he even could have sworn he had heard the Tetsu growl softly when Kiarina said how James had hugged her.

"So he is a weed?" a woman with short orange hair, pointy ears and short sleeveless dress that went up around her neck asked. Kiarina chuckled.  
            "No he just looks like one. He's really lanky; he's supposed to be taking this weight training course at college so he doesn't have to take the other required classes."

"So he's all brawn and no brain? And no real brawn…?" the woman asked slightly confused.

"Exactly, and top it all off with a ton of martial arts classes and an ego that will cause him to float away one of these days…"

"So he's all brawn… or he tries to be all brawn and no brain?" D asked as he took a large bite out of a particularly large slice of mousse cake.

"Yep, he got both short ends of the stick I suppose you could say…" This comment drew laughter from those listening around her. Turning to talk to T-Chan Kiarina noticed he had gotten up and left without her noticing. Slightly disappointed in his silent departure she continued to talk with everyone a bit longer enjoying their company and the mousse cake.

*

            T-Chan watched as Kiarina left waving and calling goodbye to everyone. She walked past his hiding spot not seeing him there. A few moments after Kiarina left he noticed Count D checking his usual hiding spots for him. Curious as to why the Count was looking for him he got out of his hiding spot and walked over to D hands stuffed in his pockets. As he walked over D looked up and gave his usual smile. 

"Ah there you are T-Chan, you just missed Kiarina leaving you know," he said in a casual voice. T-Chan gave a small nod frowning slightly not sure where D was going with this.

"Tell me T-Chan, what do you think of Kiarina?" he asked looking at T-Chan the corner of his smile tweaking into a small smirk. T-Chan didn't reply right away. After a moment he said;  
            "Well she's not bad as far as humans go, and she's nothing like her uncle Leon which is good for her…"  
            "That's not quite what I meant T-Chan." D said softly cutting him off "I meant…_what do you think of her?_" he asked looking at him his eyes glinting with inquisitively. T-Chan growled glaring at D.  
            "Don't even start thinking that way. I'm a Totetsu, and she's a human… a _human_ Count! You know, one of the creatures on the top of my food list?" he said his voice a threatening snarl.

"Come now T-Chan, you know in my shop just because two people are of different species doesn't mean their dreams cannot be fulfilled…"  
            "Cut the crap Count, I'm not one of your bloody customers. What makes you think that human girl is my dream anyway… she's more one of the ingredients on one my recipes." Not wanting to hear any more of D's thoughts on the matter T-Chan walked off huffing. As he walked his mind ran back over the conversation. It was true what he had said, she was a human and he was a Totetsu, he'd eaten and served humans before and Count D knew it. Yet as he thought he felt a small twinge in his heart. _Aw come on…_ he thought to himself, _it's not like she's anything special. She's just someone to talk to, like a bunch of others in the shop. Just because I like to talk and spar with her, doesn't mean I like her._ With that decided T-Chan walked outside onto the streets of china town deciding a prowl along the darkening back streets was a good idea.

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Authors Note: Yay! The end of chapter five! Again thanks for the reviews and I apologize for any occness, but then again the only way for there to be no occ would be if I was the writer of pet shop of horrors and I am still sadly not the author :( ah well :). I hope this chapter wasn't too long or short. I appreciate any reviews 'cause they motivate me and help me put up more chapters! I also like to know how I'm going and if people are getting a good idea of the characters I create, well that's enough blah-blah-blah from me… till the next chapter!


	6. The tournament begins followed by a than...

Authors Note: Another review another chapter… Yay! :-D As for the names I've given some of the characters that are in the book pet shop of horrors… well I didn't know what they really were so I just made them up!:) Anyway… on to chapter 6!

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Kiarina opened her eyes tiredly as blinked a few times to get the sleep out of her eyes. She stretched out on her bed before bringing her hand down dead weight on the snooze button with a smack. She smiled as she rolled over shutting her eyes for a moment before swinging her legs over the side of her bed and pushing herself off of it before she had a chance to lie back down again. She smiled as she walked over to the shower. Today was the day the sub tournaments took place, and she was eager with anticipation. She dried and dressed and checked her equipment and made sure she had everything she needed in her duffle bag before heading out. She needed to win three bouts today to make it through to the semi-finals, true this was only the preliminaries, but she knew it was easy to run into someone much better than her early on in the tournament, so she had no intention on thinking today was going to be easy. She had invited Leon and Count D to come watch if they wanted, she had also told the others at the shop that they could come to. She arrived half an hour early at the place where the tournaments were to be held. She signed in then walked over to the changing rooms. As she walked she looked about the room; there were only a few other people around besides those competing, though she knew the place would be fairly full once the semi-finals and finals came around. She grinned in anticipation as she walked into the changing rooms _this will be fun_ she thought to herself between warm up stretches.

"Ok Count what the hell are you doing here?!" Leon yelled at D pointing at him accusingly as if he had done something wrong.

"My dear detective, you knew very well that your niece invited me to come and watch the preliminaries of the fencing tournament." He replied looking a little annoyed.

"Uhh…. Well yeah, but you run a pet shop, and I know you're not closed today…"

D gave a smug smile "I decided to take the day off, if there was a chance that you could not make or had forgotten about it I wanted to be sure Kiarina at least had some friends to watch her." D almost chuckled as Leon's skin color darkened slightly as he glowered at D. Rather than trying to make a come back on D's insult, he gestured a hand at the extra animals that accompanied D today. Usually Q-Chan was the only one who seemed to follow D _everywhere _he went. This time Q-Chan fluttered about the Counts head as he held T-Chan in his arms who looked at Leon with a warning glare. A raccoon was seated by his left foot and a Siamese cat was seated by the other.

"But why did you have to bring _them_ along?!?" Count D looked at Leon plainly as if wondering why he was yelling again. "A raccoon, a cat, and that mother fucking goat along with that rat-bat thing that's always following you… this isn't an animal show D you can't bring them in!" after he said that the animals all seemed to glare at Leon as if daring him to try and stop them. _Aw shoot_, Leon thought to himself.

"Like I said Detective, your niece invited us and we plan to watch." D walked past Leon Q-Chan flying around him, the raccoon, Siamese girl followed along as T-Chan moved to look over D's shoulder in order to keep his eyes fixed on Leon. Once he reached the entrance D turned to look at Leon who was still standing where he was still muttering and fuming silently, he smiled "Come now or we won't get good seats." Shoving his hands into his pockets Leon growled as he followed D not sure he liked this.

D chose the seats saying they would be able to see the stage best from there, though Leon was sure it would be the same where ever they sat. The animals took their own seats including T-Chan who usually sat on the Counts lap. A few moments after they were seated the announcer walked to the center stage.

"Today we begin the first rounds of the fencing tournament" The man's voice ran clear through out the large room with the ease of practice "there will be seven bouts before we will take a short break before resuming for the other eight for a total of fifteen."

"Holy shit Count" Leon whispered to D "How long do you think this is going to take?" D turned to Leon giving his usual casual smile,

"Well my dear detective since this is the preliminaries the bouts are likely to be short, unless two expert fencers run into each other early on I doubt much of this will take more than five to ten minutes per round."

"Really? Huh, that's interesting." Leon half muttered to himself before turning his attention back to the stage. The rest of what the announcer said basically flew over Leon's head as his short attention span started to take over he began looking around the room idly until the names of the first two dualists were called. Turning his attention back to the stage he noticed two people in white outfits wearing masks with what looked like mesh net covering their faces.

"Hang on how are we supposed to know who we're cheering for if we can't see their faces to tell who they are?" Leon hissed under his breath.

"My dear detective we will know when it is Kiarina's turn because the man will call her name and she will walk onto the stage in response to her name." D almost spelt it out to Leon feeling slightly irritated at Leon once again failed to see what was going on right in front of him.

The second match had just finished, Kiarina was standing off to the side with the others mask in one hand foil in the other. She took a deep breath as she walked up to the stage as the referee called her name. Walking to the center of the stage, she glanced over at the audience out of the corner of her eye. She almost stopped and grinned; D, Leon, T-Chan, Sai-Chan and Pon-Chan all seated in a row. They were all waving wildly in hopes of getting her attention to let her know they were there. All except for D who was giving a small wave with one hand while trying to stop the others from making such a big fuss. Biting the inside of her cheek gently she resisted the urge to burst out laughing at the sight of them all. Eyes forward again as she reached the referees side she stopped waiting for her opponent, as she did she gave a tiny wave by moving her fingers back and forth slightly to her friends and uncle in acknowledgement that she did see them. She donned her masked and placed her back foot horizontal while her front foot continued to point straight, placing one hand behind her back she raised her foil to touch the others in front of her. They both stood like that for a brief moment before she heard the ref shout: "BEGIN!" In almost perfect unison their foils moved apart the opponents swinging up and then down aiming for her upper left torso. She brought her foil up to block it then sliced it downward fast in hopes of catching them in the middle. He blocked her attack then tried to lunge at her right side. She side stepped just enough to let the foil pass her without touching before she brought her foil up in an almost horizontal strike. The man tried to step back and bring his foil around to block but the tip of her foil was already pressed against the padding of his suit.

"ENOUGH!" The referee cried as the two of them stood back lowering their foils. "The winner of this bout is Kiarina!" everyone clapped while her friends and uncle applauded, whistled and cheered while drawing disapproving looks from D as he sat there and continued to simply clap while he seemed to be wondering why the others couldn't just do the same. He seemed to tolerate it for a few seconds more before he grabbed onto the front of Leon's shirt and pulled him gently but firmly back into his chair. She removed her mask and shook hands with her opponent smiling at him.

"Great job, thanks for the bout." The man nodded and smiled shaking her hand.

"Thank you too, and good luck." With that the two of them walked off the stage as the others got ready. As she sat on one of the seats put aside for the participants she watched the others intently, she tried to remember each name of the person who won with the style they had used during their bout and how she could do what the person who had lost to them could not. While she didn't have ether of her other bouts in the first set, she found out that she would be having her next two in a row in the second round. She gave a silent worried sigh as she placed her mask and foil to the side as she went to greet Leon and her friends. Leon picked her up hugging her tight he swung her around in a circle "That was so cool! I knew you could do it!" Kiarina smiled not caring too much that she was slightly too big to be swung around like a kid by her uncle. "Yes that was very well done Kiarina; you have two more to go correct?" D asked smiling at her kindly as T-Chan slapped her on the back in congratulations. She was grateful she still had her padded suit on to soften the blow otherwise she might've toppled forward. "Yes my next two are one right after the other, I'm a bit nervous about it actually…" she said looking down a bit at her feet.

"Two in a row? How come, no one else has to do that right?" Sai-Chan asked curiously

"No, no one else has to do that, guess I just got lucky heh heh." She said looking up giving a smile.

"Well it seems like they've put out some kind of food and drink on the tables over there, let's go grab a bite." T-Chan suggested jerking a thumb over at the tables where people were laying out plates of sandwiches and fruit along with pitches of water and juice for the competitors and the small audience. Kiarina smiled giving a small nod "Yeah, food sounds good right about now." She hadn't eaten since around seven that morning and it was now twelve thirty. They all walked over and got a plate and some food and something to drink before going back over to the chairs arranging them in a slight circle so they could all face each other and talk while they ate.

"Thanks for coming everyone, its nice to have someone cheer me on." Kiarina said smiling at all of them.

"Do you mean to say that people don't usually come to watch you?" D asked sounding slightly surprised.

Kiarina gave a small shake of her head. "No, not really... I do a lot of traveling, so usually it's just me in a new place and no one I know. That's why I'm really happy you were all able to come, it's nice to have friends and family along."

"How come you travel so much?" T-Chan asked looking at her with mild curiosity "of all the places you've been to, haven't you found a place you want to stay?" Kiarina looked at T-Chan contemplating his question as Leon got up to grab some more to eat.

"Well… no, not really. I've just always gone where ever my tournaments take me."

"Don't you ever get homesick? Or wish that you had someplace to always come home to?" It was D that spoke this time. Kiarina looked at him; he seemed to look at her as if his eyes could see though hers and into her mind. It was true what he had said, she did wish she had someplace to always come back to, true it was fun always going someplace new and seeing new people and all of that… but sometimes she just felt so tired of it all. But in response Kiarina simply gave a small shrug and smiled "Well I guess it's just because I haven't found any place I'd like to come back to just yet." D looked like he was about to say something more but the announcer cut in over the speakers.

"Attention all competitors, five minutes remain till we resume the tournament." Kiarina polished off the rest of her food and drink while trying not to choke on it from eating it so fast. As she stood she smiled at everyone, including Leon who had just returned with another helping of snacks, "Wish me luck"

"Good luck!" they all chorused. Kiarina grinned and trotted back over to where the contenders where supposed to wait. As she walked, her mind went over what T-Chan and Count D had said to her. Her eyes fixed on the floor in front of her feet she began to wonder as she did sometimes why she had been constantly moving for the past five years almost. It had been tough on her first few trips away, but back in the beginning it had been with her other friends in the fencing club back at home. So she hadn't really been by herself in her travels till she was eighteen. She shook her head knowing that now was not the time to start thinking about things like this, if she didn't keep her focus she might loose in the next two bouts…and she had no intention of loosing so early on in the tournament.

With the feeling of friends and family watching, and the sound of their cheers for her at the beginning at the end of each bout seemed to give her an extra boost of energy. It almost seemed like she flew through both her matches with speed she hadn't felt before. Her foil swung and sliced through the air almost seemed to sing with speed as it moved with a speed she'd never felt herself have behind the cup before, it felt as if there was another's strength along with hers… placing their hands on top of her hand that held the hilt and adding their strength to hers. Kiarina didn't resist the feeling; it felt weird… but slightly familiar.

"ENOUGH!" Her mind seemed to buzz slightly as the announcer called an end to her second match. It almost felt like her mind was being released from a cloud smoke as the extra feeling of force left her. She removed her mask and smiled at the woman and shook her hand.

"Great job, thanks for the bout."

"No, thank you" the woman said smiling at her "That was magnificent, I could almost feel the strength you were keeping back, good luck in the finals." Kiarina smiled and thanked the woman and sat back down as she watched the rest of the competitors. The moment it was over she left her things where she had been sitting and ran over to the others.

"Congratulations!" Leon exclaimed as he hugged her tight and spun her around. "That was amazing!"

"Indeed it was Kiarina, but Leon I do think you need to put your niece down now I think she's a little big for that." D said with a small amused smile on his face.

"Oh right, sorry." Leon said as he placed her back down.

"No worries." Kiarina said smiling up at him as the others voiced their congratulations while T-Chan congratulated her with one of his usual 'pats' on the back. Grinning she managed to keep her balance and gave him a small shove in response.

"Well now why don't we all go back to my shop and have a little tea and cake in celebration hm?" D said smiling at Kiarina.

"Yeah yeah come on lets go celebrate!" Sai-Chan said excitedly and began to tug on Kiarina's arm. Kiarina laughed as she tried to stay standing where she was.

"Alright but hang on a second, those who qualified have to stay behind for a bit… why don't you all go on ahead and I'll catch up as soon as I can alright?" Count D gave an understanding nod. "Well then we shall see you shortly." He said before walking towards the exit with the others as Kiarina walked back over to where the other qualifying fencers were sitting waiting for the announcer who was going to be giving them the information on the next match.

Kiarina smiled as she walked outside and stretched slightly, she didn't carry any of her equipment with her as she decided to leave it in one of the lockers and come by tomorrow when some of the other competitors had decided to have a practice session. Smiling she turned to start walking towards the Count's shop.

"Hey! Hey Kiarina!" a male voice shouted from behind her. She turned to look at the speaker without taking a moment to wonder who it was, although when a pair of arms wrapped around her and hugged her tight she almost let out a groan of despair.

"Hi James…" Kiarina managed to say simply while resisting the urge to shove the man away. This close she could almost smell everything he had been smoking… though she knew she didn't want to know, but whatever it was it was making it hard for her to breathe. Luckily he let her go and she took an instant step back.

"James… what a surprise, what are you doing here?"

"Well I found out from a friend of mine where the fencing tournaments were being held. It seems he was right about the location, but wrong about the time. So how did it go? Did you win?' he asked grinning at her.

"Um… yes I did…"

"Well congratulations!" he said cutting her off "To treat I'll take you out for ice-cream" he said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and began to nearly pull her along.

"That would be nice but I have to go somewhere…"

"Nonsense, you're with me now there's no where else you need to be."

_Oh gods_, she thought to herself, _how the hell am I going to get out of this one_???

"Kiarina! Hey come on we're going to be late!" the voice cut though her thoughts as she spun her head around to see her rescuer. A hand adorned with a few golden bracelets and nails that looked almost like claws took her arm and gently pulled her out of James hold with ease.

"Hey now who are you to…" James turned to come face to face with a man slightly taller than him, his golden yellow cat like eyes looking down on him for a brief moment before he turned to lead Kiarina away from him.

"Sorry James like I said there's somewhere I need to be! Bye!" she called out to him before turning around and picking up her own pace to keep up with T-Chan's. The moment she knew they were out of hearing she looked up at him.

"Oh you have no idea how much I owe you for saving me just now" T-Chan turned his head slightly to look at her from the corner of one eye.

"I take it that was the 'weed' man James you spoke of before?" Kiarina nodded as they continued to walk fast paced to D's shop. T-Chan lifted his head now and then almost as if he was checking for something. It was then that Kiarina noticed he was still holding on to her arm. She blushed slightly but didn't pull her arm away, not wanting to seem rude, so she pretended to ignore it and simply left it to him to realize instead.

"Thank you so much for coming to my rescue T-Chan, but why were you still there? I thought you had left ahead with the others?" she asked looking up at him a bit confused.

"Umm… well…" he muttered slightly, but before he was able to say any more he let go of her arm and opened the door to Count D's shop.

"Come on, let's celebrate your victories. I made a soufflé the other day…"

"You bake?" Kiarina asked looking up at him with slight surprise and a large amount of interest in this new found information. She giggled slightly as she followed T-Chan inside wondering if she had just seen him blush.

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Wow OO;;; that has got to be the longest chapter so far… ah well what can you do about it :) Well as for any more chapters, there will be more… but I'm going away for my summer vacation. So please read and review, and be patient for chapter seven… Thanks for reading!


	7. A cry out in the dark

Authors note: I am back from my vacation! And am all set up in my new house (well the comp is set up thus everything is fine :-D) thank you as always for reviews, so as promised with reviews comes another chapter! I hope I'm still doing a good job with the chapters, I hope you enjoy chapter seven!

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The sun had gone down awhile ago and the pet shop was getting ready to close, Kiarina was ready to leave after having fun with her friends at the pet shop. They had had a small party to celebrate her passing the fist phase in the fencing tournament. The celebration itself had pretty much drawn to an end as everyone was getting kinda tired. Kiarina sat on the couch with her legs over the side of one of the arms of the couch, her back resting against T-Chan's as he sat in a similar fashion their heads resting back on the others. T-Chan usually objected to this kind of contact with any human, but this time it just really didn't seem to bug him that much. Why? Eh, he didn't really care; he just seemed to like to sit like this with Kiarina. Kiarina laced her fingers together and yawned widely stretching her arms above her before flopping them back down on her lap a small content smile on her lips.

"You off then?" T-Chan asked turning his head around slightly so he could see her out of the corner of his eye. She gave a small nod before responding;

"Yeah, I should probably get going... its getting late and I have to walk"

"You need to be careful when walking around at this time of night Kiarina." Count D said as he walked over to pick up the tray with the empty tea pot and used cups. Kiarina nodded.

"I'll keep my wits about me, I'm not that tired just yet." she said with a small smile. This was the main reason she wanted to leave now, before she got too tired to notice her surroundings. She wasn't a fool, and she had heard enough of her Uncle Leon's stories to add to the caution and alertness she already had about her when she walked anywhere at night.

"Perhaps T-Chan could walk you home; he would certainly make certain you got home safely" D offered, a small smug look on his face. T-Chan shot the count a warning look while Kiarina shook her head.

"Thank you but I don't want to put anyone out of their way, I'll be sure to be careful and I've got money to hail a cab so," she gave a small shrug and D gave a single nod.

"Very well then, take care Kiarina." D said smiling simply at her as she slipped off the couch. T-Chan let himself simply fall backwards to lie staring up at the ceiling. Kiarina looked down at him and smiled and ruffled his hair slightly "Bye T-Chan" she said before drawing her hand away running her fingers through his hair in the process. T-Chan smiled and shivered slightly at her touch but just simply stared at the ceiling, not saying anything in reply as Kiarina said goodbyes to everyone else before leaving the store. T-Chan continued to stare at the ceiling for a moment before Count D placed his face in T-Chan's direct line of vision smiling down at him. It was the same annoying 'all knowing' smile that seemed to be really grating on his nerves lately, probably because D was giving them to him.

"Come now T-Chan, would it have been that hard to have walked the girl home? You could've had some time together" T-Chan simply growled deeply in warning and shut his eyes in reply indicating he didn't care to talk.

"What's the matter T-Chan?" D asked his voice only just above a whisper.

"What are you thinking T-Chan?" D asked when he received no reply to the first question. Everything seemed to slow at that point, almost as if time itself had dug in its heels to slow its self down. T-Chan frowned; D's voice seemed to be seeping in through his mind, almost like it was searching for something.

"What are you dreaming T-Chan?" D's voice was quieter now, but T-Chan still heard him clearly. Time seemed to slow, and nearly even stop, as if waiting for D's next question. T-Chan noticed he was straining to hear as if what was going to be said next was going to be of great importance and he was going to miss it.

"What... T-Chan... is your deepest desire?" _my what?... my deepest... desire?_ T-Chan thought questioningly to himself. What _was _his deepest desire? He closed his eyes tighter, as if trying to see something in his mind eye and was not able to see it clearly. Laughter came to mind; he remembered the soft weight on his back as he lay face down as a voice asked if he gave up. He remembered waiting for someone to come, just so he could try out a new surprise attack. He smiled as he saw her face, her brown eyes shining with energy and a kind of strength and defiance; almost as if she challenged the world and tried to befriend it at the same time, he always seemed to feel happy when she came... though he originally though that it was because he wanted to regain his dignity from when she tackled him down the first time… but now...?

T-Chan's eyes snapped open to look up at D who still looked down at him expectantly.

"T-Chan?" T-Chan looked up at D for a moment feeling confused and irritated because he was confused. He then pushed himself off the couch nearly falling flat on the floor in the process and bolted to the back rooms as if something terrible were at his heels and he was trying to get away from it.

Count D watched him go before turning to look at the clock; Kiarina had left a little more than half ago. Walking into the kitchen D prepared some tea and a small snack before following after T-Chan. It took him a few tries but he finally found T-Chan in one of the rooms that seemed to resemble a thick jungle. he found T-Chan sitting with his back to a tree, staring at nothing in particular. He didn't even seem to notice D as he sat down to pour tea for both himself and T-Chan. he actually had to nudge T-Chan a few times before he noticed D was there and offering him a cup of tea. T-Chan took it but didn't drink; he simply held the cup and continued to look blankly at the air in front of him.

"T-Chan" D said softly "I can understand why your thoughts are a little... perplexing." T-Chan turned to give D a questioning side glance. "Come my friend, who better to understand than me, the complexity of species and such" T-Chan gave what might have been a small sigh; he knew the count was right in that regard. He looked down at the tea in his cup before taking a gulp of it, draining the cup of half its contents. D sat patiently as T-Chan went over his thoughts as he sipped at his own tea saying nothing for the moment. He was more waiting for T-Chan to say, or ask something. As T-Chan thought he took a few smaller drinks from the cup.

"Hey D?" T-Chan asked, his voice barely audible. D lowered his cup to look at T-Chan showing he was giving the Totetsu his attention but still said nothing.

"Do you really think that..." he stopped in mid sentence as a scream seemed to shatter his thoughts. T-Chan dropped his cup as he stood up looking around intensely.

"T-Chan?" D asked looking up at T-Chan confused; he had not heard what T-Chan had. He placed his cup on the tray as he stood and looked around trying to find out what was wrong. The scream pierced his mind a second time, this time it seemed to be calling his name, what was worse... the voice sounded familiar. T-Chan turned to look at D questioningly almost as if he expected him to be able to explain what was going on.

"T-Chan what is it?" D asked a worried look on his face. T-Chan continued to stare at D. D always knew when something was wrong, T-Chan thought to himself, especially when it came to Leon. Relevance? He asked his mind feeling irritated, _because D cares for Leon_, a voice seemed to reply in his mind, _and D always knows when something bad either was going to or had happened to Leon_. So? He asked his mind again not sure he was liking where it was taking him. _So who do you care for T-Chan_? D smiled at T-Chan as almost as if he sensed the Totetsu's recognition.

"SHIT!" T-Chan yelled as he turned and ran for the door. D knew, T-Chan thought to himself, he always knew... because he cared for Leon. And he? He cared for Kiarina, and perhaps more than a sparring friend. No matter how many times he shook his head at the thought and just ignored it, he did care. So did that mean he knew when something bad had happened to her…or not? Either way, he wasn't going to risk it, he needed to know she was ok.

T-Chan ran out of the store and stopped at the footpath outside; sniffing at the air he found Kiarina's scent and turned to follow its trail. He had followed it for not even ten minutes before he picked up another familiar scent, not being able to place it he ignored it deciding it wasn't important. Another ten minutes later fear was added to Kiarina's scent, something was wrong, something was very wrong. As he turned to look down the back streets of china town he cursed under his breath, what the hell had caused her to turn from the main roads to the back streets? He ran now, stopping only at turns making certain he was going the right way. As he made another turn he skidded to a halt, his mouth dropped as he stared on in shock and disbelief. The full moon added to his keen eye sight, making what he saw clear as day.

Kiarina walked out of the pet shop smiling, she kept her head up and ears alert as she headed home at a brisk pace making sure she was looking confident and not an easy target. While her head was up she looked down every now and then at the shadows the street lights and moon cast so that she would see the shadow of someone walking behind her incase she missed hearing them. Not long into her trek home she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. She didn't really feel worried, only children and fools panic and the smallest of sounds. She paused and turned as if she were looking through the window of a closed store, she looked down the path out of the corner of her eye to see who was behind her. It was a guy, she could see him clearly as he walked under a street lamp, paused, and then crossed the street. nothing to worry about, she thought to herself, but she silenced her footsteps as she walked on keeping an ear out for his footsteps that almost seemed to eco in the almost silent streets of china town. As she listened she almost missed the shadow that was drawing up next to hers. She nearly jumped when she did notice, she hadn't heard the person come up behind her at all, and she had been listening for footsteps. Chiding herself she picked up her pace slightly and glanced up to see a figure walking her way in the distance, it certainly wasn't close enough to worry about just yet, but she started to hope a taxi would drive past soon so she could flag it down.

"Hey girl" the guy from the other side of the road called out, his pace picking up slightly "Where you heading cutie?" Kiarina swore mentally to herself wishing that T-Chan was with her. She picked up her pace slightly too, the person behind her still had their shadow to her heels, and she didn't want to chance a look around. She glanced up at the closely approaching figure, as she looked it raised a hand and waved... somehow she got the feeling the person wasn't waving at the one behind her or the guy on the other side of the street.

"Hey girl" the guy called out again. "Want to hang out? We can have some fun." Kiarina's eyes darted around frantically searching for a means of escape. With the shops to one side someone to the other, someone in front and behind her... she wasn't left with too many options. As she glanced forward again she noticed one of the entrances to the backstreets of china town. If she ran with everything she had she could probably loose them in the maze-like backstreets. She hid her smile and kept her face downcast in hopes of keeping her plan a secret. As the three of them began to pick up their pace and the one in front of her began to call out to her in the same manner as the man next to her she continues to walk simply at a quick pace, the moment she was next to the opening she turned and ran down it for all she was worth. She heard them shout out behind her but she ignored them as she ran for all she was worth turning this way and while still knowing exactly where she was going and still trying to keep her footsteps as quiet as humanly possible without loosing speed wanting to make it as hard as possible for them to follow her. She glanced behind her and smirked seeing no one there. Turning back around she saw someone nearly directly in front of her. She hit the breaks and even tried walking backwards to prevent running into the person but failed. Both of them collided and went backwards.

"Oh I'm sorry, I was in a hurry… are you ok?" Kiarina asked as she stood up and dusted herself off briefly before walking to the other person to offer her hand to help them up. The person took her hand and stood up and grinned at her.

"No worries Kiarina, now what has you in such a hurry?" James asked as he smirked at her. She could clearly see it was him; the full moon was high above them and gave no need for extra light.

"Nothing, I just need to get home is all." She said making sure to sound calm. She went to walk around him but he put his arm out to stop her.

"Come on now Kiarina, I didn't get to talk to you earlier because that weird looking fool stole you away from me."

"Stole me away from you??" she looked at him as if he had gone mad. "He did not steal me from you, you never had me. Stop talking about me like you own me because you don't, now move I have to get home!" She snapped at him all her usual patience being eaten up by the lingering fear that the three behind her might catch up. She moved his hand away and began walking past him.

"Hey come on now Kiarina that's not like you… where's the sweet girl I know and love." She shuddered and continued walking pretending not to hear.

"Come on girl, let's hang out and have some fun." Kiarina turned around to look at him; he grinned at her and began to laugh. Turning around to run away from him she saw two men turn into the ally way in front of her. Fear caught her throat almost choking her as she turned to look at James then back at the two other men walking towards her.

"I'd like you to meet two friends of mine Kiarina, I asked them to keep an eye on you… just in case. When they told me you left the pet shop I walked on over to come and see you." _Just in case?_ She thought to herself, _just incase what??_ But she ignored that thought and concentrated more on how she was going to get out of this mess. She was in an ally way with only two ways out, one blocked by James, the other by two guys.

Shit.

This was not good, in any way shape or form, this looked as bad as it could get. She braced herself as one of the two guys came within two feet of her and reached out a hand as if to hold her arm to make sure she didn't run away. Quick as she could she grabbed the arm tight in one hand and twisted herself around so her back was to his chest then rammed her elbow as hard as she could into his gut then stomped her foot down hard on his and swung her free hand up in a fist to connect with his nose then down with the same force down again to connect between his legs. The man went down like a ton of bricks as Kiarina silently thanked her lucky stars for all the times she'd watched Miss Congeniality. The other guy looked at her in surprise as she firmly planted both her feet and raised her hands up in front of her. It was obvious that they hadn't expected a fight… but boy was she going to give them one. The second man rushed at her both arms reaching for her as if he intended to grapple her. She waited then side stepped at the last second. As his arm went past her she ducked her head over his arm then brought it up behind him putting her back into it managed to flip him over behind her and into the wall that was behind her. She circled away making sure to keep her hands up and keeping no one to her back, she mused as she did so finding it amusing that all the defense stuff she'd seen in movies or read in magazines she was actually using. She paused for only the briefest of seconds to see if either of the two guys were getting up. When neither of them moved she turned to run but only got a few paces before she felt something connect hard with her side and send her flying into the wall. She sat there for a moment clutching her side feeling it gingerly hoping whatever it was had just bruised her ribs. She looked up trying to keep tears of pain out of her eyes. James stood in front of her arms folded across his chest a triumphant smile on his face.

"Come on little girl, I don't want to bruise your precious body now." His voice derided at her, as if she were simply a child who had thrown a very small fit. She lowered her head and placed her hands on either side of her then swung her leg out to connect with his feet in hopes of throwing him off balance. Taken by surprise he stumbled backwards trying to get his feet back under him and regain his balance at the same time. Taking her chance she stumbled to get to her feet and continue down the ally way, she only had to make at least two or three turns to reach home. The first guy she had sent down was back on his feet and by looking at him she could tell he wasn't going to let her get away with what she'd done. He swung his fist hard and fast at her; she managed to duck but didn't see his second fist. It slammed into her arm causing her to stagger to the side; she resisted the urge to cry out in pain as she felt the bone break. She cursed mentally turning to look at the guy not wanting to leave herself open she found the other guy had gotten to his feet as well. She knew they would be more cautious now as the two of them stood in front of her. One of the guys rushed her fist raised to strike her skull, she stood poised her eyes focused.  Grabbing the oncoming fist with both hands she threw herself down pulling him down hard with her. She coiled her feet to her chest and pushed up hard against his releasing his arm, she managed to throw him behind her and knock the wind out of him. She launched herself to her feet only to have something hard connect with her left temple causing her to fall back down and her world to turn black.

As Kiarina opened her eyes, blinking to get her eyes to focus, she realized that she was standing with her back to her wall and some one was pinning her arms back.

"Good to see you awake beloved." James' voice sliced through the pain as she raised her head, which now felt like a led weight, to look up and meet his eyes. Glancing to either side of her she noticed one of James' cronies was on either side of her keeping her arms pinned back. She turned her head back to look at James her eyes burning in defiance; she coiled her legs to her chest and screamed as loud as she could as she planted both feet into his abdomen. As James staggered back clutching his belly she kicked out to both sides nailing both guys in the ribs. They released their hold and she ran again only to have someone catch fast to her hair nearly causing her head to snap back.        She screamed again in frustration and defiance, this time calling out to T-Chan in the process. She didn't know why she called for him and not for Leon who was a detective and could bring the police down on these guys in a heart beat. She felt a solid object connect with her crown sending her to the ground. She launched herself to her feet, not caring that the ground seemed to be moving beneath her feet like a ship in a storm or that her eyes only saw blurs. She threw her fist at the shape in front of her, her rage and desperation giving her new strength. The shape dodged with ease and waved an item it was holding in front of her tauntingly. She focused her eyes on the item wanting to know what it was, as the outlines seemed to solidify she realized it was James in front of her and that he was holding a sheathed dagger. Looking at it more closely she thought she could see blood on the pummel of the dagger. He grinned at her like a wolf might grin at its prey. He unsheathed the dagger and swung it hilt first at her head. Kiarina tried to step back but James merely moved forward causing the pummel then the blade to strike across her head. Kiarina stumbled backwards and was immediately pinned back against the wall again, this time the two looped one of their legs over hers keeping them pinned back too just incase she still had something left. But she had nothing but the buzzing numbness in her mind. She wasn't even aware of the blood tricking down her skull or around her eye.            James grabbed her chin tightly and kissed her fiercely, Kiarina tried to struggle against it but found she had nothing left but her consciousness.

"You've put up a good fight Kiarina." James whispered when he broke the kiss "But I knew I'd break you in the end, you shall belong to me and no other." Kiarina whimpered and opened her mouth in a silent cry of pain as she felt the dagger bite into her flesh just above her collar bone. He kissed her again this time forcing his tongue into her mouth as he moved the dagger down through her shirt cutting fabric and flesh alike till he reached the end of her shirt, only then did he draw his dagger away. He began to kiss her cheek then her neck as his empty hand moved aside her torn shirt and bra to feel her breast. Kiarina shook her head and tried to break away but her body refused to respond. All she could do was think of T-Chan's grinning face and pray that somehow he'd hear her silent pleas for help. James began to kiss down the trail of blood till he reached between her breasts, he then began to suckle and tease the other breast as he kept his hand on the other. Bringing up the hand with the dagger again he brought it this time to pierce her skin just above her jeans on her hip. He had moved it less than an inch before a loud roaring sound filled Kiarina's ears, but she was barely aware of it, her conscious was beginning to slip away from her vision blurred further and seemed to spin as the edges seemed to grow dark. Her arms felt to her sides, no longer held up. She slid to the ground no longer able to keep herself on her feet, she felt something in her mind giving way, almost as if it was surrendering to what might happen next but she felt it shoved aside her stubbornness still strong when the rest of her failed. She'd resist to the end no matter what, even if she couldn't…

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Gyaahh! Another cliffhanger, and worse than the last one… well I hope I did this chapter ok, I was kinda worried about writing it well enough. Ah well, now all we have to do is wait for the necessities for the next chapter! Heh, yeah I know I'm mean goes and hides I just like cliffhangers… so sue me :-p and I also didn't want to make this chapter too long… ah well. Till next time!


	8. Unable to see you

Authors Note: Boxes, boxes, boxes --;; unpacking can be such a pain… ah well. Yes I'm sorry to have left it like that hehe… I'd like to thank people for not killing me… hehe but anyway :) I have returned with chapter eight! The last few chapters might come kinda slow I've got school and work starting up again… so please be patient, but for now here is chapter 8!

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To say T-Chan was enraged was to win a prize for the understatement of the year. He was beyond anger, rage or fury; there were no words to describe the level of intense hatred he felt seeing James touch Kiarina like that. She looked so pale causing the blood running down the side of her face to stand out even more in the moonlight. T-Chan opened his mouth and roared with all his might causing the three to immediately let go of Kiarina and run. Let them run, his mind hissed, they cannot escape. Drawing his lips back in a snarl T-Chan launched himself after them going on all fours at first to catch the first man by the leg with his jaws. He flung his head up and around with such speed the bone shattered. The man cried out in pain and tried to fight off the enraged Totetsu, but no one can win in a fight against a Totetsu… especially once you make it mad. T-Chan didn't relent till the man was torn and dead; licking some of the blood off his face he then turned down after the other two. He caught up with the second easy, this time he launched himself onto his back driving his claws in deep and causing him to fall to the ground. Taking the man's neck in his mouth he jerked it to the side causing the spine to snap, ahead he saw James turning round down the left ally. And then there was one, he thought his grin spreading to reveal a row of sharp blood stained teeth. He dropped the man not caring to waist anymore time on him, he raced after James. Turning the corner he felt something connect with his stomach causing him to stumble back slightly arms clutching his stomach as he snarled.

"How dare you try and take something that rightfully belongs to me." James hissed at T-Chan.

"You talk like she's just an object, a thing. But she's not, and you don't own her!" T-Chan practically yelled, straightening to glower at him.

"You think your rescuing her now don't you, you think your saving her and get revenge but your not. While you bother with me she's back there dying, or for all we know she could be dead already." T-Chan's eyes faltered leaving an opening and James took it, dagger still in hand he made a lunge for T-Chan. Eyes coming up T-Chan caught James' wrist stopping the blade. With his free hand he ranked his talons deep across his stomach and neck and threw him hard against the wall. T-Chan walked over and knelt in front of him.

"That's not enough to kill you you know, you don't deserve a quick death. I think I'll just leave you here to bleed to death." He sneered before ripping a piece of fabric off of James' shirt to wipe his blood from him as if it were the most disgusting thing in the world before getting up and running back to Kiarina. James shouted something after him but he ignored it.

T-Chan knelt in front of Kiarina as she sat limply on the ground. Her face was deathly pale, and she didn't seem to be breathing.

"Kiarina?" T-Chan whispered. He was almost afraid to touch her; he felt that if he did he would find that she was truly dead. But she couldn't die… not yet… not now. He just found out he cared for her, so she couldn't die yet… not till he got the chance to tell her that he loved her.

"Kiarina… open your eyes… please? It's me T-Chan… they're gone now your safe… please?" His tone was pleading as he slipped his fingers under her chin to gently lift up her face with one hand while the other wiped the trail of blood from her face. Once that was done he continued to look at her, face in his hands cold to the touch with barely any traces of life warmth left. As he watched, slowly but surely her eyes began to flutter open glancing around for a moment to rest upon T-Chan. Her eyes didn't seem to focus, the energy and friendliness that usually shone there was gone… replaced by an emptiness and fear. She began struggling against him her mouth wording silent voiceless screams that she was no longer able to vocalize. She tried to hit out at T-Chan not able to recognize who he was, he caught her hands and held them easily… her attempts were weak and frail, nothing like the girl he knew.

"Kiarina, it's me T-Chan." He thought for a moment trying to figure out how to get her to know it was him, the last thing she needed to be doing right now was struggling. Thinking of something he placed her hands on top of his skull right where his horns started. She paused for a moment then traced around the base of his horns then gave them a slight tug. She stared at him, as if trying to get her eyes to focus. Realization lit in her eyes as she threw her arms around his neck and began to cry. He hugged her carefully while whispering reassurance that it was all going to be alright now. They sat like that for a brief moment before T-Chan let Kiarina go and, while blushing a deep red, removed his vest and carefully placed it on her backwards to cover her front before carefully picking her up in his arms. She remained still in his arms only wrapping one arm around his neck, the other apparently broken. T-Chan walked as quickly as he could manage back to the pet shop trying not to jostle Kiarina too much.

It was late when T-Chan walked into the pet shop, only the nocturnal animals were awake, but all it took was one of them to scream at the site for the whole pet shop to wake up. Count D was out in a heart beat in his night ware. He looked down at Kiarina moving his hair out of the way so he could see her with both eyes.

"She will be alright, but we need to get an ambulance here at once. T-Chan put her down on the couch and keep her head slightly elevated." T-Chan did as he was told as D hurried to the phone. All the animals were muttering quietly, not wanting to make too much noise, T-Chan knelt next to her not saying anything. The animals didn't really need to ask T-Chan what happened to the ones that did this to Kiarina, while there was no blood visible on T-Chan, the scent was still fresh about him. D came back into the dining room saying that an ambulance was on its way and that he had also phoned Leon who was going to meet them at the hospital.

It didn't take long for the siren to be heard coming down the street followed by flashing red lights. T-Chan picked up Kiarina intent on going with her to the hospital, and D didn't intend to argue. As the two of them hurried out D called back to the animals to take care of the shop while they were gone. T-Chan placed Kiarina down on a stretcher that was placed inside the ambulance. D told the paramedics basically where she was injured and convincing them to let him take his two pets along. Not caring that these humans couldn't see him as a human T-Chan sat next to Kiarina and held onto her hand as one of the men placed a breathing mask over her face as the ambulance sped away.

When they arrived at the hospital T-Chan had to stay behind with Count D as they took her to the X-ray room to find out the extent of the damages done. Not long after Leon came bursting in looking around frantically. The minute he saw them he ran over.

"D? D what the hell happened, where is Kiarina, is she ok?" He was panting as if he had been running, his face was tight with worry. D was very surprised the detective wasn't yelling his head off and blaming him for the whole thing.

"Kiarina just went into the X-ray room, why don't you have a seat my dear detective?" D offered sitting down himself T-Chan curing up on a chair next to him.

"Take a seat? Damn it D I can't just sit down. What about the ones who did this?" Leon started pacing but when no reply came from D he stopped and looked up at him questioningly.

"My dear detective if you would just sit down…" D stood up and walked over to him taking one of his arms as if to insist upon him sitting. Leon turned fiercely on D grabbing onto D's kimono with both fists.

"For Christ sake D how the hell can you just sit?!" Leon hissed at him his face only inches away from the counts. T-Chan stood up and growled warningly as D just looked at him simply. He had expected this reaction from the detective, and any moment now he would be blaming him and T-Chan for what happened to Kiarina.

"I've stopped things like this before, bigger things too. I'm a detective damn it, it's in the job description to serve and protect…" D simply looked at Leon as he spoke waiting for the accusation and the chance to tell him what had really happened. Leon continued to glare at the count before lowering his head down but still keeping his fisted grip on the count's kimono. After a few moments D noticed Leon was shaking.

"Detective?" D asked in a soft voice.

"Of all the people I've saved, of all the times I've managed to protect people… why is it I failed to protect my niece?!" D's face saddened with the realization of the fact that Leon was actually blaming himself for what had happened. D wrapped his arms carefully around Leon and rested the detectives head on his shoulder.

"Come now Leon, this isn't your fault." He whispered reassuringly.

"No D, it is my fault. Why didn't I take her home when I had to leave, or why didn't I stay with her to take her home? It's all my fault!" T-Chan tucked his paws under himself as the man creatures words ran through his ears. While he didn't like the fact, he knew he could sympathize with the man. He could've walked Kiarina home, but he hadn't, but he knew it was better not to think of 'what ifs', all that mattered was that Kiarina was alive and that she get better. When D had finally calmed Leon down enough to let go of his kimono he was able to get him to sit down. Leon wiped at his eyes furiously not wanting to be seen crying. He glanced over at D.

"Sorry D, didn't mean to grab you like that." He muttered.

"Don't worry about it Leon." D said smiling kindly at him.

It was only a few short moments later that a doctor came walking up to them a folder in his hands. "Count D and Leon?" he asked. The two got up and walked over to him.

"So what's the damage doc?" Leon asked only just able to keep his voice steady.

"Well I'm afraid it's not very good, but it could have been worse. Kiarina has three broken ribs on the left side, the right arm is broken, and she has two fractures in her skull." Leon might've fallen to his knees if D hadn't seen him pale and placed a hand behind his back to keep him up. "She will suffer from brain damage, although how much and whether or not it can be fixed we won't be able to find out until she wakes up. The cuts were not deep enough to require stitches but they have been bandaged up. She's been placed in room 211, I'll take you both there if you like." Leon nodded numbly and didn't give any of his usual outbursts. Seeing the detective in shock D led him along T-Chan following beside him.

Kiarina was the only one in the room. She lay still almost lifeless on the hospital bed. She had two drips going into one arm, one for blood the other for fluids. There were a bunch of other screens and things attached to Kiarina that Leon had no idea what they were. Leon walked over and knelt beside her bed taking her hand in his. D placed a hand on his shoulder as T-Chan jumped up on the other side of the bed and rested his head on her arm.

"D? Tell me what happened, I want to know who did this." Leon knelt there as D told him what T-Chan had told him had happened. Leon gave a small smirk when he said that T-Chan caught the ones who did this, he didn't even feel the need to ask him what happened to them, heck he'd gotten bitten enough times just by sitting too close to the damn thing.

"D, I've got a favor to ask you."

"Yes detective?"

"Could you… could you please get something for Kiarina? I know you know I don't trust you or your pets or anything like that… but damn it." He paused for a moment to calm down, the last thing he wanted to do was to yell and wake Kiarina up. "Please D, I know you've got to have something that can help her right? Like a plant, or a pet… some kind of tea, hell I don't know."

"And you would trust me to find something to give to your niece detective?" D asked a small hint of smugness in his voice, he knew Leon didn't really trust him…

"Yeah D, I do. I really do trust that you can help her in a way the doctors can't." His voice was an odd calm, and for the second time that night Leon managed to surprise D. It took D a moment to register the fact that Leon now placed his trust in him.

"Don't worry Leon, I'll be sure to get something. I'll head back to the pet shop now and return with something tomorrow alright?" Leon gave a small nod. "T-Chan will want to stay here, don't worry… I trust you know he won't hurt her, I'll be back tomorrow." D left closing the door quietly behind him. Leon felt content to simply sit there and watch over her all night. And oddly when a doctor or nurse came in to check the reading on the screens they never said a word about visiting hours being over or that pet's where not allowed in the hospital, they just came and left almost as if the man and Totetsu weren't even there.

D opened the door and walked quietly into the room. He gave a small smile seeing both Leon and T-Chan asleep with Kiarina. Walking over to the table by the window he placed down the things he was carrying before walking back out again and returning momentarily later with two sleeping cots. Setting one up he picked up Leon as if he weighed no more than a child and placed him on the cot and draped a blanket over him. Walking over to where T-Chan knelt D simply placed a blanket over his shoulders knowing that he would wake the Totetsu if he tried to release his hold on Kiarina's hand.

He walked over to the table by the window where he had left his things and opening the wicker basket took out two vine like plants. One he placed on the windowsill, the other on an empty spot on Kiarina's night stand. He then took two incense burners from the basket and placed them around the room lighting them so that the room was quickly filled with the same scent as the pet shop. As D was taking a tea set out of the basket Q-Chan, who was with him as always, flew over to T-Chan and landed gently on his head waking the Totetsu. T-Chan blinked tiredly and looked around.

"Hey Count." He muttered tiredly as he turned around to rest his back up against the bed.

"Good morning T-Chan, did you sleep well?" He asked as he handed T-Chan a cup of tea. The two of them sit for a moment eating breakfast, the only noise coming from the monitors.

"D is that you?" Leon muttered tiredly from the cot.

"Damn D what time is it?"  
"It's about eight o'clock in the morning."

"Christ I need to get to work." Leon muttered staggering to his feet, D held his arm till he was steady on his feet. "I don't want to go in today, but I have to. I can't let this happen to anyone else… plus I need to pay you whatever it is you want for helping Kiarina. I'll sign whatever contract you like D just please get her better."

"Detective I do not wish for anything other than Kiarina's health restored, and I think you might want some tea and breakfast before you go. I don't know what you ate last or when it was but I suspect it wasn't very good, and I know hospital food isn't the best ether." That said he walked over to the basket and brought out food for Leon. Leon was about to object and say he'd just get some coffee on the way to the station, but when D brought over actual food and not the usual sweets he sat down and took it gratefully and thanked the count even more when he handed him coffee. He downed it in about five minutes despite D's reproachful looks and jogged out but not before kissing Kiarina's forehead and making D promise yet again to take care of her.

T-Chan turned his head around to look at Kiarina. She looked so peaceful lying there, he would've thought she was just sleeping if it wasn't for all the equipment and bandages.

"Do you think she's going to be alright count?"

"It's hard to say… just keep watch over her T-Chan, you know I can't be here all the time." T-Chan nodded and propped his arms up on the side of the bed. As he watched she opened her eyes for a brief moment, blinked once, and then closed them again.

"Hey count? Count come here…" D walked over to the other side of the bed and looked down at her, brushing his hair behind his ears both his gold and his purple eye began to glow.

"Kiarina… won't you wake up? We need to make sure your alright." D's voice was soft and compelling with something behind it that seemed to draw out to the girl. Again her eyes batted open slightly, but this time they stayed at least half way open.

"How do you feel Kiarina?"

Kiarina was barely aware of what was going on around her, let alone what was being said. Somehow in the depths of her mind she heard Count D talking to her as clear as anything.

"How do you fell Kiarina?"

How do I feel? She tried to move her head around wanting to see T-Chan. She knew he was there, he had to be. Where's T-Chan? She thought.

"T-Chan's right here, he never left your side for a moment." If Kiarina had been in a better state of mind she would've realized that the count had heard her without her having to even open her mouth. Where…? She managed to roll her head slightly to one side, looking over she saw a strange creature she had never seen before. She wasn't sure if it was a sheep, a tiger, or something else. She looked at it for a moment wondering briefly before trying to turn her head back to D. Where's T-Chan D… I can't see him.

"But he is sitting right next to you, you just looked straight at him." There was no mistaking the concern and even the hint of sadness in his voice. Kiarina didn't understand what was going on, or why she couldn't see T-Chan. I can't see him, but he is here… isn't he? She asked an almost pleading tone in her voice.

"Yes he is, and I promise you will see him soon." She could barely make out the sound of D's footsteps walking away or the sounds of the creature beside her. Slowly her eyes fluttered shut again, that feeling of consciousness that she had had slipping away from her.

"Why can't she see me D, why?" T-Chan didn't know if he was upset or furious or something else, but tears stung his eyes as he felt his throat tighten. What would he do if she was never able to see him in his human form, only his animal form… he wouldn't be able to talk to her anymore… he wouldn't be able to tell her. T-Chan sat down and laced his fingers through his hair gripping it as he lowered his head staring at the floor beneath him.

"My dear T-Chan, the doctors will do what they can, and so will I." D said reassuringly as he wrapped his arms around the Totetsu comfortingly. "I will make sure everything is set right."

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And thus the end of chapter eight! Sorry it was a bit short… and sorry if it was a bit violent. but then again this is psho, when isnt some one getting killed mamed or devoured ;; hm, thank you again for your patience I hope it won't take me as long with the next chapters but then again it might, I don't want to rush and do a bad job or anything. Till next chapter please R&R! :)


	9. all you need is a cup of tea

Authors Note: You know what I've realized? School puts a damper on free time. Time to type and time to think of what you're going to type about… YAY FOR THE WEEKEND!!! Hehe, yeah sorry for taking my time with this chapter…just wanted to make sure my dieing brain wasn't going to affect it in anyway. Oh and to tigermink's review… I have read pet shop of horrors, and I do know that Chris is Leon's only sibling and that to have a niece and at Kiarina's age he'd have to have an older relative etcetera etcetera etcetera. But I'd like to remind you that this is a fan fic, and if I want to make a char that doesn't exist in the manga and we'll never meet in this fan fic probably just so Kiarina can exist then that's what I'm going to do power of the writer and disclaimers! HeheXD ah but I'm not offended or anything…I did say constructive criticism was fine and I meant it, I just felt the need to explain myself and drag out the pro beginning of the next chapter… Ah but anyway : ) enough with these explanations I've already apologized for OCC'ness and other stuff… so on with chapter nine!

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It was a full week before Kiarina opened her eyes on her own; the whole while T-Chan never left her side for a moment. D and Leon both stopped by to see how she was doing, D often brought food for T-Chan though he barely touched any of it. He was too worried about Kiarina. When she first opened her eyes he looked down on her to see if there was any recognition in her eyes, but there wasn't. Her eyes were distant as if she wasn't really looking at anything, and she would just lie still in bed for the few brief moments that she was awake gently running her fingers through his fur. She was only awake for a few minutes at best… and still needed to have food and fluids through tubes sticking into her arms as she either refused to eat or drink what was offered to her or could not acknowledge it was being held to her lips. But all the while T-Chan slept by her side resting his head on the side of her bed her hand resting on his head as if to reassure herself that someone was there with her. T-Chan was almost always asleep during the day unless Kiarina was awake then he was always awake with her. He preferred to stay awake during the night to watch over her to make sure she slept soundly. Too many nights she would start struggling in her sleep then begin to thrash around trying to strike at something in front of her, her mouth open all the while in a soundless scream as tears streamed down her face. He always tried his best to bring her out of the nightmares before she hurt herself any worse than she already was, but sometimes all he could do was hold onto her as she struggled against him until she exhausted herself into a dreamless sleep.

Another three days later and the humans known as 'doctors' decided that Kiarina was capable of eating and drinking on her own and that she should start trying. She still hadn't spoken a word, not that that mattered too much to him and D, or Leon who was starting to believe the Count when he said Kiarina had just spoken to him with her mind. Though she didn't say much with her mind either… though he did feel a bit better to know that her mind wasn't that damaged. When the Count and Leon weren't around T-Chan tried to get her to eat or drink whenever she woke to help build up her strength. He would carefully peel and slice up the fruit the Count had left for them with his claws and offer her bite sized pieces. Sometimes she would accept the food, and other times she would just look at him with an almost tearful, distant look her mind wondering, asking… where someone was and when they were going to come and see her. He'd ask who she meant not caring that she probably didn't understand him as he was still an animal to her mind, but she'd reply just the same as if she could understand him to some extent, she'd ask for him as she always did, where T-Chan was, and he would have no reply other than to rest his head by her side so she could rest her hand on his head to know that he was always there and that she was not by herself. _Count D will heal her…_ T-Chan would reassure himself over and over, _of all the things he can do… I'm sure he can do something as simple as heal a hu…_ he paused on his thought for a moment. He no longer thought of Kiarina as a human… not one of _those_ humans anyway…_ he will heal Kiarina, I know he will_.

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D came around like clockwork early one morning to see both Kiarina and T-Chan awake. The head of Kiarina's bed was raised slightly and she was looking around at everything as if just now acknowledging where she was.

"Good morning Kiarina, did you sleep well?" D asked as he walked in, carrying a picnic basket on one arm, he went over to sit down in a chair by Kiarina's bedside. _Good morning Count_. Kiarina thought, her lips moving slightly as if wanting to vocalize the thought but not quite being able to just yet.

"Well I have a bit of a treat for you today, a lovely mixed tea with some added flavoring." He said as he brought out a tea tray and set up the cups, teacup, sugar bowl, all out of the basket before drawing a flask of hot water and pouring it into the teacup. He waited a brief moment before pouring three cups and handed them out. Kiarina took small sips as usual, but before she could even halfway finish her cup the count refilled it without her even realizing it. As she drank she began to feel funny… like when you drink hot coco on a freezing cold day, you can just feel it running down your throat warming you up. That's how she felt, except she could almost feel it running through out her muscles and bones, over her skin from her skull to her fingertips, and down her spine making her shiver slightly. Her whole body seemed to tingle with the feeling. A rushing sound came to her ears almost as if she had been dunked underwater, she suddenly felt warm all over, in her mind it seemed like something was ticking over… as if she was trying to find something that she knew was there… something just beyond her reach. Her skull began to throb painfully in two spots almost as if someone had struck her head all over again. Her eyes blurred with tears, at the edge of her mind she could just make out someone talking to her.

"Kiarina? Kiarina the doctor is here to take you to the x-ray room." She blinked and looked up, the Count's face came into focus then she looked over to see the doctor standing with a wheelchair. She glanced down at her cup and wondered momentarily why it was still full… With the help of the Count and the doctor she managed to move from the bed to the wheelchair without too much trouble. Looking over at the clock she noticed it was noon. _Huh…_ she thought to herself, _that's not right, D came this morning and he's only been here a few minutes… it can't be __midday__ just yet_.

Count D and T-Chan went with the doctor to see what results the latest lot of x-rays would show. Not too long later the doctor called them into the exam room to have a look.

"Well I just don't know how to explain it." The doctor said motioning to the charts up on the light screen. "You see this one here? This is her arm, now less that two weeks ago it was a complete mess… now it looks like it's almost completely healed, something we didn't expect to see for at least another fortnight. And this one here," he said switching the pictures. "This is her rib cage, as you can see it's much of the same, a month of healing in almost two weeks." He changed the charts again this time putting up the one of her skull. "Now while there are some improvements here too… there's also something odd. Where there were two fractures there seem to be forming two bumps on her skull, one on either side. Now how this is happening I'm not too sure it's almost like there's a solid calcium buildup taking place over the fractures as the skull is trying to heal itself."

"Yes doctor, but what about her brain itself, has there been any repairs there?" D asked. The doctor sighed and shook his head slightly looking over to Kiarina who was sitting on the exam table staring forward her eyes slipping in and out of focus. The cast had been removed from around her arm; the one around her ribs was probably gone too. But the bandages around her head remained.

"The CAT scan results shows that it's not just brain damage, while the brain has suffered great injury it seems like the stress and trauma the brain has also suffered might make the damages permanent. We'll do what we can, but Kiarina is going to have to try to bring herself out of this too… although how we can make her aware of this I'm not sure. She still hasn't spoken a word or responded to anything."

"Of course doctor, I'm sure everything will be fine." D said smiling at the doctor in an all knowing way. About to ask what the man meant the doctor looked at the count but was distracted by something glinting in the Counts golden eye and forgot it completely. He turned of the screen and picked up the x-rays and placed them carefully back in their folder. He stood for a moment looking at the folder before looking back up at the Count.

"Well I think Kiarina can go back to her room now, keep up the good work with getting her to eat and all." He said with a nod as he unfolded the wheelchair and placed it next to the examination table where Kiarina sat. D gently took her arm and helped her into the chair while the doctor held the chair still. As D and T-Chan, keeping pace beside the wheelchair, walked slowly back to Kiarina's room Kiarina started to slowly turn her head slightly from left to right, as if trying to see something.

"Did you perhaps want to get one of the magazines or books from the hospitals TV room?" D asked kindly pausing for a moment in front of the doorway that led to a fair sized room with comfy looking couches, a few TV's, tables and what looked like a good selection of books and magazines to choose from.

_ No thanks Count, not at the moment._ She thought, still unaware that she was speaking to the count with her mind.

"Perhaps later then." He said with a smile. Kiarina gave the tiniest of nods as the Count continued forward.

_ Will __Leon__ visit me today?_

"He said he would. Did you notice the lovely flowers in your room? One is from your uncle Leon and the other is from his friends at work, they all chipped in together to get them for you wasn't that nice." Again she gave a tiny nod. It was nice to hear the Count talking, her hearing still seemed fuzzy yet for some reason she could hear him crystal clear and listened to her when she talked. For some reason the doctors or nurses didn't seem to hear her when they came in and she tried to ask them for something, but then the Totetsu would always get their attention for her.

Once back in bed she lay in bed propped up slightly by pillows the head of the bed still slightly raised. D poured her a fresh cup of tea and told her not to worry when she asked if he thought she'd still be awake when Leon got there.

"So tell me Kiarina, if you are well enough, will you be participating in the second stage of the fencing tournament?" D asked as he stirred a large spoonful of sugar into his tea.

_Well… I'd like to if I'm well enough._

"I see…" D said with a smile as he took a sip from his tea. He looked at his cup for a moment then went to put more sugar into the cup. "The winner of the tournament receives prize money don't they?"

_Yes, the sponsors contribute money towards the tournament so that they can have their little ads and things up at the tournament._

"If you win, will you use the money to travel to a new place?" D continued to look at Kiarina despite the surprised look he was getting from T-Chan that seemed to ask 'What the hell? What are you bringing that up for?'

_Well… I suppose so…_ she thought but she sounded uncertain.

"Traveling the world must be fun, there's supposed to be a tournament in London I hear. London is supposed to be beautiful this time of year." Kiarina didn't answer right away. She was looking into space, lost in thought as she petted the Totetsu who was growling lightly for some reason.

_I'm… I'm not sure anymore. True I love to travel and everything, but I'm getting tired I guess… I, I want some place to come back to after my travels or something like that or just maybe not go at all…_ her mind voice sounded so distant, almost as if she wasn't really processing the thoughts at all, more like she was just saying how she felt before even thinking about how she felt. D didn't reply, he simply took a sip of his tea

Kiarina was starting to wonder how much longer she was going to be able to stay awake when luckily she had hardly emptied her cup when Leon came in. He opened the door quietly and peaked in as if not wanting to wake her if she was asleep, seeing she was already awake however he grinned and walked in.

"Kiarina, good to see you awake girl how are you?" he asked giving her a gentle hug. Turning he smiled at D.

"Hey D, how's my niece doing, did she have her x-rays already?"

"Yes Detective and you'll be happy to know that almost all of Kiarina's bones have completely healed themselves." Before D could say anything more Leon grabbed the man in a bear hug and began to spin around with the Count in his hold.

"Ah hah! I knew you could do it Counts I knew it!" A small blush crept into D's porcelain complexion.

"I am glad you are grateful… but could you please put me down Leon." He asked his soft voice wavering slightly.

"Sure thing Count." He said and put the Count down gently then tried to brush out a few of the creases he had put in the Counts kimono. He then walked over to Kiarina's bedside, pulled up a chair and sat down. "So how is she Count, how does she say she's doing?" Along with trusting D to heal his niece he also just simply started believing the Count when he said that he could her Kiarina when she spoke, even when her lips didn't move. He seemed to not give a flying anything about anything at the moment. All that seemed to matter was that his niece got better, other than that the world could go Topsy Turvy for all he cared.

"She says she's very happy to see you, she was worried that she might fall asleep before you got here." Leon smiled as he looked down at Kiarina who seemed to be trying to smile back.

"Oh yeah here," Leon said slipping a backpack of his shoulder he unzipped it and began to pull out some books. "I stopped by her apartment to check on things; while I did I saw these by her bed side table. I know she loves to read so I thought I'd bring these. I don't know if she's up to reading or not but I just thought…" Leon paused as he looked up at Count D who had walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It is a wonderful thought, Kiarina really appreciates that you brought them for her." Leon smiled and ruffled his hair with one hand.

"That's good to know. So has she been eating? When I called the hospital on my lunch break to see how she was doing they said she hadn't been eating very much. Is that the case or is that just what you've kinda led them to believe?" D chuckled softly.

"Ah my dear Leon… Kiarina's eating habits have picked up, even if they are not what we would like them to be. T-Chan makes sure throughout the say that she has food or drink whenever she wants it, and I stop by every morning and night when I can manage it to make sure she has something better to eat then this foul choice these people at the hospital give her. Honestly Detective you think that they would want their patients to get better, and would give them adequate quality food with which to bring up their health with." It was Leon's turn to chuckle.

"Ah your right there D, I remember when I got shot and landed up in a hospital bed. You came 'round with some decent fruit and stuff… sure I would've preferred a cheese burger and fries but that's just me." D scowled as Kiarina's soft mind laughter came to his mind he looked over at her to see her managing a small smile. D smiled and decided to forego the scolding he was about to give Leon on the proper food a person needs when recovering.

"Kiarina needs some sleep now Detective; perhaps we should head over to my shop and have some tea." D offered picking up his basket and putting everything away except for two tea cups, the pot, and the flask of hot water. Leon nodded and said goodbye to Kiarina giving her one last gentle hug, still wanting to be careful, before following the Count out.

T-Chan placed his cup on the bedside table as he propped himself up on his elbows on the side of Kiarina's bed. He watched her as she finished her tea and carefully took it from her when she was done and placed it on the bedside table next to his own. He carefully lowered the bed and sorted out the pillows till she was comfortable. He looked down at her sadly wanting so much to be able to talk to her. Hesitating at first, he slowly leaned over and kissed her cheek softly before crossing his arms on the bed and laying his head down on them. She ran her fingers through his hair for a moment, and then went still as she drifted off into sleep.

As she slept, Kiarina had the sensation of being plunged underwater. She looked around her curiously but saw nothing but clear blue water, after a moment she found that she could breathe underwater. So she opened her mouth and inhaled deeply, letting the water flood into her lungs. As she did the water seemed to heat and spread through out her like fire. Her bones and muscles ached and seemed to strengthen at the same time. She curled into a ball and placed her hands over her eyes as pain flooded through her. But as she shut her eyes to the dream she could still seem to see everything about her, but it all seemed clearer and sharper than she had ever seen anything before. She shook her head and laced her fingers over her skull. Her fingers found two bumps on either side of her head. She ran her fingertips over them slowly trying to see if it would make sense… well… sense from whatever there was to make sense of. She could sense that this was a dream, at yet it seemed oddly real at the same time. As the pain seemed to fade she uncurled to look around her she noticed that the water was gone and she was now standing in a tall forest so thick with trees the sun was nearly completely shut out. The forest had a strange silence about it; it was an eerie silence that didn't seem to belong here. She began walking around the forest calling out names of people she wasn't sure she knew… but then again, who did she know? She stopped for a moment and tried to think of someone. But she couldn't seem to come up with a face or a name to go with it. _I know I've got to have a mom and a dad…_ she thought to herself, _why can't I remember them?_ She wandered on a bit more, still calling out names and now trying to remember who that name belonged to. Movement beside her caught her eye, twirling around she found herself facing a mirror. But… as she looked at it she found the person in the mirror was not her reflection. The person in the mirror had horns… she didn't, they had pointy ears and cat like eyes… she stared at this person in the mirror for awhile before raising her hand up to the glass. As she did the person on the other side did the same. With both their hands pressed up against the glass in front of the other, they both gave a small smile.

"T-Chan?" she whispered softly. Suddenly the dream shattered around her, she reached for the person she was sure was T-Chan on the other side of the mirror but her fingers only found air. She fell back though what seemed like an eternity in an instant before she felt herself fall back into the waking world.

She felt more awake than she had for awhile. She lay still for a moment, eyes still closed as the remnants of being in a dream left her. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked around. She blinked a few times; everything seemed a lot brighter and clearer, like it had in her dream. She dismissed any thoughts about the dream and looked about the room for the person she had missed in her dream. Feeling something move beside her she looked down expecting to see the Totetsu sleeping next to her as always but was taken by complete surprise when she saw T-Chan lying there in its stead. She looked down at him for a moment bewildered, then as if he could sense her being awake his eyes blinked open and he gave a small yawn as he stretched back.

"Hey Kiarina… good morning. You want anything to eat just yet?" he asked smiling then looked at her slightly confused as she continued to look at him as if she had not expected to see him there. "Kiarina?" he asked hoping she was ok.

"T…Chan?" her voice was almost an inaudible whisper. He blinked in surprise as he looked at her with almost the same amount of confusion as she looked at him with.

"You can see me?" he asked quickly. She nodded. "You can hear me." He asked as she nodded again.

"Of course I can why wouldn't I be able to…" she was cut short as T-Chan threw his arms about her and hugged her close saying how she was all better over and over again. Kiarina giggled softly as she gently returned the hug remembering her arm was supposed to be broken or something like that. But to her surprise everything seemed to be fine. She didn't hurt anywhere… except for two fading spots of now minor irritation on her head. T-Chan let her go almost suddenly and took a bit of a step back frowning slightly. She looked up at him curiously then nearly giggled at the blush in his cheeks.

"Um… It's good that you're all better uh…" he tried to sound calm but wasn't exactly managing it too well. Kiarina smiled at him and began trying to prop herself up. T-Chan went to her side quickly and gently took her arm and placed one hand on her back to help her to sit up. He then found the bed control box that made it move and raised the head of the bed for her.

"Thanks T-Chan" She said with a smile. Her voice was soft and while she seemed better, it still seemed as if her stamina had not quite recovered along with her body.

"Kiarina, it's good to see that you are awake." The two of them looked over to see Count D walking in. "The doctors say you can go home now, I've called a taxi and it should be here the moment your ready." Kiarina wasn't sure what to say, so she simply nodded. Sure she wasn't a doctor or anything… but she did know it took awhile for bones and such to heal. How long had she been in hospital? She wondered to herself. T-Chan and D went to go wait outside as she changed out of her pajamas and just grabbed something to wear from the bag that Leon had brought for her. He wasn't sure what she'd need or when she'd need it so it looked like he had just grabbed a few shirts and pants and her sandals, she smiled and shook her head. As she ran her fingers through her hair she realized that there were two bumps on her head just like there had been in her dream. She didn't pay it any mind in the waking world though; _I did take two blows to the head… why wouldn't I have something to show for it_ she thought to herself. Once she had everything she went outside were T-Chan took her things without asking or giving her a chance to object and D told her that they were going to stop by the pet shop first. Kiarina wasn't sure why she seemed to be better so soon, or why that dream left her feeling so odd, but she didn't care, she was right again and back among friends.

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Ahhhhh! Was that ok? Yes no? Aw I'm so worried about my chapters lately 'cause I don't have as much time as I did to spend on them :( hope I'm not slacking off… I want to end it well when it ends. But anyway… sorry again to took so long to get this to you, just wanted to make sure it was at least half way decent… so please R&R and I'll see you all in Chapter 10!


	10. Just wanted to tell you

Author's Note: Hey back again! Sorry about the wait and all… I blame school and homework, yup yup ah well, but you don't want to hear my silly excuses do you? Nope you want to read chapter ten! Hehe well I'm going to try not to disappoint : ). And as always, thanks for the reviews

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It was on Kiarina's first day out of the hospital that it was decided. Rather than take her home first D took her to the pet shop for lunch to celebrate her recovery; everyone at the shop was happy to see her. D rang Leon who came round shortly after they got there. After he had released Kiarina from a big bear hug he sat down to join them for lunch. Not long after they had started eating Count D wondered idly how Kiarina would fair staying in her apartment by herself, and would she be alright. Sure she had pretty much fully healed, but what if she needed help with something or simply needed some reassuring company. Leon simply kept his head down mostly but still looked up at D slightly glaring. He knew the Count didn't intend to insist that Kiarina stay with him for awhile, heck he'd seen his apartment… so that only meant one thing, that she stay at the pet shop. It had taken some reassuring and convincing from D to reassure Leon… true he was still trusting the Count, but that didn't mean he was happy about the whole idea. But in the end Leon seemed to warm up to the idea and didn't seem to be so sullen about it. Later Leon drove Kiarina to her apartment to get clothes and some other things she might need before driving her back and dropping her off promising to be back later to check up on her.

And that's how Kiarina ended up in what seemed to be one of the biggest bedrooms she had ever seen. She sat on a king sized, four post bed with what looked like deep blue silk hung over the top and draping down the posts. The bed frame seemed to be made of solid oak with detailed carvings of vines running up the posts. The carpet was a very soft plush forest green; the walls were painted a simple white while the ceiling was painted to resemble a dark night sky. The dark velvet blue sky on the ceiling seemed to match the bed canopy perfectly. The stars and few thin wispy clouds made the whole design seem so real. She felt slightly awkward and out-of-place. This room seemed to be made for someone very important, something she didn't really feel she was… well, not _this _important anyway. She had a bedside table on either side of the bed each set with a touch glass lamp. She had already placed some of her books in one of the draws and unpacked her clothes into the chest of draws that seemed to be made from the same type of wood as the bed but a slightly lighter shade. There were two doors in the room, one to the left and one to the right of the bed, one led to the finest bathroom she had ever seen and the other lead to the hallway that connected all the rooms and lead to the front. Count D had assured her that she would be able to find her way to the front with no trouble at all and told her to simply ask if there was anything at all that she needed. Sitting on the plush bed she wondered for a moment if she could possibly ask for a more simple room but then decided that that might be rude so she decided to just try and enjoy staying in what looked like a room fit for the Plaza Hotel in New York.

T-Chan had been more than happy about Kiarina staying with them all at the pet shop, but he couldn't seem to shake a sense of uneasiness. He hadn't told Kiarina anything yet, of how he felt. He felt silly for not saying anything, but at the same time anytime she smiled over at him he felt his throat close up over what he was going to say. He felt ridiculous to say to least. He wasn't some stupid human who had to deal with silly complexities. In the animal kingdom if a male fell in love with a female he told her, there was no doubt or question or anything silly like that. But Kiarina was human, and perhaps that was one of the reasons he hesitated. He also felt reluctant to give up his watch on her; almost as if he was worried she'd lapse back in her dreams and start screaming in her sleep again. In the end T-Chan took up a post curled up outside her door at night after she'd turned in and always left before she woke and found him there.

On her third night of staying with them the Count decided to take Kiarina, Leon, and T-Chan out on a picnic in the park.

T-Chan walked along next to Kiarina hands in his pockets as Leon and D talked and argued about one thing then another. He talked to Kiarina managing to stay casual and act as he always, smiling and keeping his eyes ahead while looking at her out of the corner of his eye every now and then.

"Ah here we are." Count D declared as he took the blanket he was holding and spread it out under the shade of a tree.

"Alright…" Leon said placing the kiosk in the center of the blanket. They all sat down around it as D began to hand out plates and cups and told them everyone to help themselves once he had all the food placed out in the center and the kiosk had been moved to the side.

"Man this looks great D, seems more like a feast than a picnic." Leon said spooning some fried rice onto his plate.

"I am glad you approve Leon." D said smiling as he offered a plate of sushi to Kiarina. They sat, talked, and laughed – each of them enjoying the wonderful day. The weather was nice and mild without a cloud in the sky, there was a small breeze brushing through the branches of the trees carrying the smell of all the flowers in the park. It was truly a wonderful day.

Once she was done eating she stretched her arms out in front of her and leaned back feeling so relaxed she thought she might fall asleep if she wasn't careful.

"Kiarina, why don't you and T-Chan go for a walk in the park? I'm sure there are many beautiful flowerbeds along the paths that lead around the park." D said smiling at Kiarina.

"That sounds like a good idea…" Kiarina said standing up "come on T-Chan, lets go see what's in bloom."

"I don't really care for flowers." T-Chan said idly. He lay on his back hands under his head one leg crossed over the other, eyes closed. When he opened them he saw Kiarina was kneeling behind his head looking down at him. Her hair was falling down on either side of her face brushing against his cheeks gently.

"Come on T-Chan don't be lazy." She teased. T-Chan just grinned and looked up at her. When she didn't move he rolled over to his side and got up.

"Alright alright, I'll go for a walk…" he said crossing his arms over his chest he walked off Kiarina walking alongside him.

The park seemed almost empty save for the two of them. The day was truly tranquil, with the feeling that almost nothing could go wrong. They chose a path at random and walked down, an array of different flowers spread out on either side of the path. Butterflies flitted across their path as they went from one flower to another, birds sang serenely from the trees.

"Hey T-Chan?" Kiarina asked as the path led them through a grove of trees.

"Yeah?" He asked tilting his head to the side slightly to see her better without turning around.

"I just wanted to thank you again, for watching over me while I was in hospital…" she said looking down at the ground shyly. T-Chan placed his hands behind his head and looked ahead.

"Aw it was nothing…" he said trying to sound casual.

"Maybe… but it was really sweet of you just the same." T-Chan could've sworn he was blushing and looked away in hopes of hiding it. He felt his heart beat a little faster. Swallowing hard he lowered his arms and turned to Kiarina.

"Kiarina?"

"Yes?" She asked turning, seeing that he had stopped she stopped and faced him.

"I wanted to tell you something…" he said stepping closer to her so that there was barely a hand span between them. He looked down into her brown eyes that looked back up at him curiously. Raising a hand he cupped her cheek in his hand.

"Well… I wanted to tell you…"

----

"Well D I have to hand it to you… Kiarina seems to be doing great."

"Thank you detective. By the way I've been meaning to ask you, how did the report go on the boys… I trust there were no connections made."

"Nope, none what so ever; don't know what you did D but it seems no one's going to be nosing around the pet shop looking for suspects." Leon said grinning as he grabbed a small cake from one of the containers then offered the container to D.

"Well then it seems I need to thank you too my dear detective, you had a chance to close me down as your always hoping to do and yet you let it slide past." D said with a mischievous smile as he took a cake from the container.

"Shit D come on… after what you and T-Chan did for Kiarina there was no way I was going to point the finger at you guys. But I tell you there was a lot of paper work over those two boys… you right Count?" Leon cut himself short as D started choking on a mouthful of cake. He patted the count on the back while passing him his tea.

"D… Detective… how many did you say?" D asked as he placed a hand on his chest hoping to calm his breathing.

"Two, why?" Leon asked looking at the count concerned.

"Leon… there were three, three boys; Jason and two other boys." D said looking up at Leon, eyes full of worry and concern.

"What?!? Shit D, you know what this means don't you? We have to find out which one we missed we have to –" Leon was cut short as a gun shot rang throughout the once silent park. The two of them stood up quickly and looked off in the direction the sound seemed to come from.

"D…" Leon managed to mutter.

"I suggest we hurry detective."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Leon said pulling his gun from its holster.

----

Kiarina screamed as T-Chan fell to his knees hand clutching his arm trying to stop the on flow of blood.

"T-Chan…" Kiarina's voice was scared. She looked around frantically trying to see someone who could help, but instead saw someone far far worse. She turned pale as her throat tightened on another scream. It was almost like he was back from the dead, and from the sight of him she almost believed it. Jason looked like death warmed over. He was pale and filthy, his feet were bare and a piece of fabric that seemed to have been torn from the hem of his shirt was wrapped about his neck. The fabric had been blood soaked and given time to harden making the fabric seem almost cast-like. He had the look of a madman as he stood there gun in hand. He looked at T-Chan then at Kiarina, the gun following his line of vision.

"What… what are you doing here with him…" he stuttered stumbling forward from his hiding place among the bushes of flowers that had so well concealed him. Kiarina wanted to take a step back away from him but she didn't want to move from where she was. T-Chan was almost directly behind her, she hoped that if she stood there in front of him James wouldn't attempt to shoot him again. James stopped about six feet in front of her gun still raised, finger on the trigger.

"James…" Kiarina managed to say with a small smile. "Why don't I take you down to the hospital, they could bandage you up…"

"No, no I'm not going anywhere… you… you get away from him, how dare you let him touch you." He sounded as mad as he looked, Kiarina froze where she was not sure what to say or do. The last thing she wanted was to move and give James a clear shot of T-Chan, but she didn't want to provoke him either.

"Well if you don't want to go to the hospital where do you want to go then?" Kiarina asked fighting with all her will to stay calm despite the fact that she was trembling she could almost sense a feeling of strength and reassurance coming from T-Chan who was crouched behind her. T-Chan watched the man from behind Kiarina biding his time. If he attacked now he could be shot again, or worse… Kiarina might get hit instead. He hadn't kept faithful watch over her since the night she had been first attacked to let her die now from an act of carelessness. James took two small steps towards Kiarina, as he did his aim wavered slightly leaving the gun pointing just past her.

"I don't care what you say… or what anyone else says, you're my girl. No matter how many other girls I see or own… your still mine… your still mine!" He yelled at her. He was beginning to shake now too, almost as if this was all too much effort for him.

"James…" she said chancing a small step towards him. But before she could place her foot back down James raised his hand and slapped her hard causing her to fall to the side.

"No… I'll kill him first, and then I'll deal with you… you treacherous snake." James turned in time to see T-Chan lunge for him. James brought his arms up to defend himself and tried to aim the gun at T-Chan all at once. T-Chan grabbed James' wrists and for a moment they stood like that each trying to overpower the other. Kiarina looked up from where she was on the ground. T-Chan would overpower James in the end; despite the gun wound James was still weak from old injuries. James seemed to be aware that he was slowly loosing, so he began to maneuver the gun around in his hand so that he could fire the gun at T-Chan. Kiarina saw this and immediately tried to think of something she could do to help. She looked at the gun and the arm that held it, slowly her jaw began to ache. She ran her tongue across her teeth and nearly cut it, her teeth were sharper then they should be… sharp. Without pause or hesitation she lunged forward from where she was crouched and grabbed James arm and bit down hard. James cried out in pain and dropped the gun. T-Chan released the gun arm and shoved his hand at James' chest claws first.

Kiarina let go and fell back. She leaned forward to let the blood drain from her mouth not wanting to close it incase she swallowed any of it. Her head was spinning but not from nausea, her head seemed to pulse madly from the two bumps on her head.

T-Chan snarled at James, "This time I'm making sure you don't harm Kiarina ever again." Pulling his arm back fast T-Chan removed his hand from James' chest, with the other hand he forced his jaw open and shoved his bloodied hand down his throat and released his heart before removing his hand letting James fall to the ground.

"It would seem we have arrived just after the nick of time." D said calmly walking down the path to them as if on a simple stroll.

"Shit D you can say that again… Kiarina are you alright?" Leon said running over to her. Crouching beside her he took the handkerchief that D offered him and attempted to wipe the blood from her face.

"Hey Count," T-Chan said walking over to D "is she… I mean…" he looked up at D his face hard and serious with concern in his eyes "Human teeth aren't that sharp are they." It wasn't a question… it was a statement. T-Chan knew that human's didn't leave puncture marks like that. He was the one who left bite marks like that… not Kiarina. D simply gave his all knowing smile that he usually reserved for Leon or customers.

"Well T-Chan, I promise that it's nothing to worry about." D said simply.

"Count… I'm not that man human," he said pointing to Leon "don't patronize me like you do him." He said as he began to wash the blood off his arm before moving to the bullet wound. The bullet had passed right through so it wasn't too serious, well T-Chan didn't think it was anyway.

"Just trust me T-Chan; I know what I'm doing." D said as he took a second handkerchief form his sleeve and bound it around T-Chan's wound to stop the bleeding.

T-Chan wanted to object but D suggested they move away quickly, he would linger behind for a moment to fix things before catching up. He told Leon to go back to work and T-Chan to take Kiarina back to her apartment and that he would be around later to check on them. Everyone left quickly wanting more of an explanation from D but all knew they wouldn't get one.

T-Chan placed his arms around Kiarina's shoulders and helped Kiarina hurry along. He didn't like what was happening to her, she seemed to be changing. Ever since she'd come back from the hospital she seemed to be getting less and less… well… human. But if she was getting less human then what was she becoming? Damn it D! T-Chan thought to himself gritting his teeth. He shook his head not wanting to think about it right then. Getting Kiarina back to her apartment safely was what mattered.

---

Luckily T-Chan managed to get Kiarina back to her without anything happening. Kiarina had her small shoulder bag on her, fishing around in it T-Chan found a set of keys and key chains. T-Chan managed to get the door open on the second key and helped Kiarina into the kitchen and into one of the chairs before going back to shut the front door. Rummaging around in the kitchen he found where the cups where held and got her a drink of water. After a few sips Kiarina seemed to get a better hold of herself.

"How do you feel?" T-Chan asked kneeling in front of her, his voice concerned.

"Better…" she said nodding. Her voice was a little weak, but over all she seemed better.

"I'm glad you're alright…" Kiarina looked up at him and saw something in T-Chan's eyes that she had never seen before. It was a soft compassionate look mixed with concern and something else… before she could recognize what it was T-Chan looked away.

"T-Chan…" she said softly, he moved his head over slightly but seemed to only want to look at her out of the corner of his eye. "You wanted to tell me something earlier…" this time he fully turned away, nearly placing his back to her. He stayed like that for a moment as she sat there watching him patiently. He turned back around and brought himself up so that his face was level with hers.

"I just wanted to tell you something important… something that…" before he let himself finish T-Chan leaned forward and kissed Kiarina gently on her lips. He moved back after a second or two; Kiarina opened her eyes and looked at him blushing obviously taken by surprise.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have… I…" T-Chan looked down. He'd never kissed a girl before, maybe he should've asked for her permission to kiss her first or something. Kiarina's fingers touched his cheek gently asking him to look up at her. He looked up at her to see her smiling.

"Don't be sorry…" she said leaning forward to kiss him briefly "I love you too." It was T-Chan's turn to look at her in disbelief. It lasted only for a moment as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her again. Warmth spread through them like fire causing them to shiver slightly. They released the kiss but stayed in each others embrace both content to stay in the arms of the one they loved uncaring of anything else in the world.

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Ahahaha weeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!! Ok I hope I did that alright hehe. Oh and yes I know a simple handkerchief can't stop the bleeding from a bullet wound… but this is Count D we're talking about here! And it's his handkerchief! :-p ok just bear with me on that one k? Oh and this is not the end… not for another chapter or two… hehe. So please R&R and I will see you all as soon as possible in Ch 11!

Oh and sorry this chapter was a bit gory… but then again this is PSHO… and gore is what they do! But sorry just the same… T-Chan and I just thought James deserved it at that point… bye for now!


	11. Dreams fufilled

Authors note: Hey everyone, hope I didn't keep you waiting too long… I've got a list about a mile and a half long of all the things that kept me from the computer, the fact that my computer didn't have access to the internet for awhile didn't help… no not really… -p. ah but anyway! All that's in the past, and here and now… well we finally have chapter eleven! First off though, thanks to Crazyfangirl for the tackleglomp, and to gabby; I do fence foil but I prefer saber Also I just want to say thanks to all my readers and reviewers. Thanks for sticking with me through my first story you have all been the best aw man now it sound like I'm ending the story or something doesn't it? You know 'thanks for everything bye' kind of thing huh? –Sigh–

Kiarina: Wait, this isn't the end is it?

T-Chan: It can't be the end; do you know what kind of adventures and things we could go on! And it's not like you could fit things like that into one singe chapter.

Author: Calm down the both of you, everyone will have to wait till the end to see whether or not this is the last chapter.

KT: Aw man no way!

* * *

He was a Totetsu, one of the legendary immortal beasts. His life would extend beyond time much like the phoenix and the dragon; he would live to see the rise and fall of many of the human eras. And while he was still considered to be a young Totetsu; he had already seen more than any one human could hope to in one life time. Many human life's had been but an instant in his, mere flickers of dying light around him. It was almost hard to accept the fact that Kiarina would be the same way. She was human, and thus mortal. She would fall prey to old age long before he would look like he had aged another year. But that didn't seem to matter to him, or perhaps he was simply telling himself it wouldn't matter. She would be a brief shining moment in the many centuries that he would live, and true, he would probably stand before her grave many years from now looking the same as he did just then – but again he wouldn't let that matter. He loved her, and she loved him back, and that was all that mattered. He had resolved to take care of her and love her even when mortality had stripped her of her soft beauty, it was Kiarina he was in love with anyway, not her looks. He wasn't some stupid fickle human male who only liked the pretty girls who didn't have an ounce of wit about them.

T-Chan sighed and lay back on the sofa in the pet shop. Not long after Kiarina had sat down on the couch she had fallen asleep from mental fatigue. He couldn't really blame her, how often had she been threatened with a gun then see someone have their heart ripped out. He had resolved to sit in front of the couch and watch over her as always when he had heard a soft knock on the door. Not sure what to do T-Chan went over to the door and looked out through the small round glass filled hole in the door. Seeing the Count, T-Chan opened the door quietly and let him in. Once the door was closed behind him Count D turned to T-Chan with a small smile on his lips, and that all knowing glint in his eyes.

"Tell me, how is she T-Chan?" The Count asked T-Chan softly.

"She's alright, just tired I guess." He stated simply, making sure to keep his voice down. Kiarina just looked so peaceful sleeping; he didn't want to wake her.

"Have you had a chance to talk to Kiarina?" The Count asked, a smug smile creeping onto his lips. T-Chan gave a silent snort; he knew D already knew the answer to that.

"Yeah… yeah I did."

"Wonderful." Count D said with an approving nod. The Count was up to something… T-Chan hadn't been living in Count D's shop for so long not to know when he was up to something.

"Hey Count –" But D shook his head before T-Chan could finish.

"Not just yet T-Chan, you will find out what I am up to soon enough. But for now I need to make sure Kiarina is alright. Will you please return to the pet shop and make sure everything is alright?" T-Chan frowned deeply at the request; he stood there for a moment looking at D, but when he made no move or inclination to do anything T-Chan took one last look at Kiarina and headed out the door closing it softly behind him. Whatever the Count was up to it was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Growling to himself T-Chan walked back to the pet shop at a quick pace. It wasn't that he didn't trust the Count… and besides, he only turned people into animals or gave them to an animal to eat when they had done something that deeply displeased the Count. Like that one girl who was mean to her dog… nearly ended up a dog herself. But Kiarina had not done anything wrong – so he had nothing to worry about… right?

-

"What'cha thinking about T-Chan?" Looking to the side he saw Sai-Chan sitting beside the sofa looking at him curiously. T-Chan was lying out on the couch as usual staring at the ceiling still trying to figure out what Count D was up to; he just didn't like being kept in the dark like this.

"Nothing." He said simply looking back up at the ceiling.

"You sure? You certainly look like you've got something on your mind T-Chan." Sai-Chan waited a moment for the totetsu to reply but when it seemed he had simply lost himself in thought again she slinked off to go find Pon-Chan.

-

Kiarina blinked her eyes open tiredly. In her dreams she had been falling again, just like when she was in the hospital, but this time it was a little different. The shattered pieces of the mirror were falling down around her and sometimes slicing her skin. As she tried to protect herself, she looked at the mirrors. Each of them held a different image. Some held her friends at the pet shop, while others held pictures of animals both common and legendary. As she looked she felt something strike her head in two different places. Clutching her head trying to massage the pain away she found that it only kept growing until it became so great it forced her from the dream world to the waking world. Sitting up slowly she rubbed her head idly only to found the pain was real and not just something of her dream. She inhaled sharply and clutched her skull with both hands.

"The pain must be terrible," Looking up quickly Kiarina was surprised to see D sitting on the chair to the side of the sofa. "I wish I could help ease the pain, but that is simply apart of the process… I apologize." He said simply with a smile, as if he had accidentally stepped on her toe or something rather than this skull splitting headache she was suffering from. But why was he apologizing to her anyway, it's not like he could actually have given her this monstrosity of a headache. She moaned in pain as she held on to her head tighter, unable to think about anything other than the pain. She felt D's hands slip under her own so that his own hands were on her head.

"Try not to press down, you will only hinder their growth, and I'm sure you want this to be all over as soon as possible." She wanted to ask him what he meant and why he was being so calm at the moment, but a second wave of pain struck her causing her to nearly pass out.

"D… D why – AHHH!" She would have fallen off of the couch to the floor had the Count not taken her hands and pulled her to her feet. Everything was swimming around her; she tried to ask D to let her sit back down but a second wave struck her causing her to see white. For a moment she thought she had lost consciousness. She felt weightless… like she was in her dream, but this felt real as well.

Count D gently held the girl as she slumped forward unable to stand anymore. D smiled to himself, it was only a little longer, then it would all be over, and there would be no need to worry anymore.

She couldn't tell how long it was till her vision began to clear. Raising a hand to rub her eyes, she saw Count D was still holding her up. Not only that, but he had an odd expression on his face. He was smiling down at her like he was holding something really special.

"I trust the headache is gone." He said gently still smiling.

"Y…yeah, I think I'm alright now." She said as she righted her feet under her so that D wouldn't have to hold on to her to keep her up. Raising a hand up to her head to make sure it didn't actually split or anything; she ran her fingers back through her hair till they hit something on the top sides of her head. She froze for a moment, and then felt what seemed to be coming out of her skull. It was hard, whatever it was, like bone. Feeling up and along she then gave the growths a tug and found whatever it was firmly attached to her skull. Stumbling into her bedroom she flung open the wardrobe door with the mirror on the inside and stared at her reflection in disbelief.

"Kiarina, how would you like to stay at the pet shop?" D asked simply.

"Huh?" She couldn't quite hear what the Count was saying; she was too busy trying to figure out what in the world was going on.

"There are many animals there, and I am certain that your expertise and knowledge on many different animals would be of great help… and I am certain T-Chan would be happy to see you everyday too."

"D…? What… I mean…" D chuckled.

"Perhaps I should explain a few things to you first. As you know I am an expert at selling dreams at my store; I sell pets that help people reach out and touch those dreams. Since the first time I saw you enter my store I knew you were a guest, a guest with a very… shall we say _difficult_ dream." Kiarina turned to look at the Count feeling very confused. _What in the world was he talking about?_ She thought to herself, _D always talks about selling dreams and stuff… but this still isn't making any sense, I don't even know of what dream I want._ The count smiled and continued "Perhaps I should start with telling a little more about the pet shop I run, and then you might understand everything a little more." Kiarina gave a small nod as she sat down on the bed rubbing the base of her newly grown horns still not able to quite grasp the fact that they were firmly attached to her skull.

-

T-Chan sat on the couch elbows on his knees his chin resting in the palms of his hands as he stared into space. The talk of the other animals around him went completely unnoticed, even when they mentioned his name he didn't look up. He kept wondering what Count D was up too; true he trusted the count… but he still didn't like being left in the dark about certain things. Somewhere in the depths of his thoughts he heard the door open and close. _Just some customer_, he thought to himself. The shop was suddenly filled with complete silence; everyone was facing the door eyes wide as if they could not believe what they saw. Rolling over on the couch T-Chan lifted his head to glance over the back of the sofa to see what everyone was staring at. It looked like Kiarina… but it couldn't be… she wasn't or more, she couldn't be…

T-Chan hoisted himself over the back of the couch and walked over to Kiarina who was standing in place almost as if she was too nervous to move. T-Chan stopped in front of her just from looking at her he could feel the small glow of golden life from her that all immortal animals carried.

"You see T-Chan, I always give my customers what they want, not an easy one this time around…" D said simply as T-Chan ran his fingers through Kiarina's hair to her horns to give them a light tug. "But as you can see, it seems that everything is as it should be."

"But I don't get it Count." T-Chan whispered looking over to the Count, its not like he wasn't happy that Kiarina would now live as long as he would, it's just that… "You asked Kiarina before what she wanted and she said she didn't know, so if she didn't know how did you? All you're customers before have always known in advance what it is they want." D gave a casual smile.

"It was easy to see actually, even if Kiarina could not see it for herself. While she loved to travel she longed to find a place where she truly belonged, and also to find someone she cared for deeply… and of course some one to care for her in return. All these things can be found here at my shop. Many different and exotic creatures that she loves to learn about, and of course there's you T-Chan, some one she cares about, and who cares for her."

-

It was almost two weeks after Kiarina had moved into the pet shop. Leon had asked Count D where his niece was and then made him swear that he hadn't turned her into a cat or anything to which D simply replied no so Leon dropped it.

"I just don't really get it that's all D." Leon said as he flopped down on the couch as he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. "It's not like her to just up and vanish like this, she usually calls or I call her… come on D what's going on here." D simply smiled as he lay out the tea and treats for that afternoon.

"Well Leon I'm certain you will be able to see her soon. But that really does all depend on you." Leon was going to ask D what he meant by that but he knew he would never get a real answer so he simply picked up one of the cookies on the tray in front of him and tried to think of another way to question D about the exact location of his niece. Sure he knew she was living at the pet shop now… but he had learnt a bit ago that this place was ten times larger than it looked. At that moment as Leon sat contemplating two pairs of eyes looked out from underneath the couch.

"T-Chan are you sure?"

"You bet this will be fun! He's bound to jump fifty feet in the air, and I'd sure like to see him run with one of us attached to each leg."

"Well alright… but no lethally wounding bites or anything ok?"

"Ok going for the skin and not the muscle. Now on three; one, two…"

"KIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"My dear detective was is the meaning of…" D looked over to see Leon leap out of his seat and barely miss falling over onto the table. Arms flailing he managed to land on the floor and twist around to try and grab the two furry things attached to his legs.

"GET THEM OFF D! GET THEM OFF GET THEM OFF GET THEM FUCKING OFF OF ME!"

"Mr. Detective there is hardly any need for such language." D said with a small scold in his tone as he was more trying not to laugh at the detective then be angry at him for swearing. With little to know effort he managed to pry the two pets from Leon's legs.

"Dammit D, those things totally shredded my jeans, bloody man-eater got more leg than jean no surprise." Leon said as he looked up at the count. The scowl left his face when he saw what Count D was holding. One was T-Chan, the other looked just the same but instead of pink and red fur, it seemed to have a simpler brown coat with light bronze streaks. "Two of those Toeten… Tentwo…"

"Totetsu, my dear detective, the word you are looking for is Totetsu." The count explained before Leon could butcher the word anymore.

"Right, Tutensue. When did you get two of them? Never mind that… _why_ do you have two of them and why is this one also bent on tearing me to shreads!" He asked looking at the brown one curiously.

"This is K-Chan, a female Totetsu, she moved into my pet shop just a few weeks ago."

"Huh… about the same time as my niece hey D?"

"Yes detective… around the same time." D put the two down on the floor. T-Chan simply lay where he was while K-Chan propped her paws on his back resting her head there. She looked up at Leon and the Detective got the creepy feeling he had seen that thing somewhere before… but maybe it looked a little different… or maybe it used to be a human or something… _Damn it!_ Leon thought to himself. Too much time around the count, too much time! Leon stomped back over to the couch, but didn't sit back down before making absolutely certain that there were no more pets under any of the cushions or under the sofa itself.

"Hey Count, since you've got two of those things am I going to be finding a lot more mutilated corpses around or something like that? I'd like to know ahead of time if I'm going to get a bunch of papers dumped on my desk that lead here then to nowhere leaving me with zip to pin you with."

"My dear detective, I assure you that these two are very well behaved Totetsu's." Leon simply snorted while the two in question tried not to laugh.

"T-Chan? Do you think uncle Leon will ever be able to see me again?" Kiarina asked as she looked up at her uncle.

"Probably." T-Chan replied with a light shrug. "The Count say's the detectives very close to breaking through his mind barrier." He said simply. _Mind barrier?_ Kiarina wondered to herself. _Oh that's right, Count D said that some people can't see the pets here as people because there's some kind of mental block they put up to prevent it._

"Do you think he'll be able to see me again before we leave?" T-Chan didn't have to ask what she meant, once the count was no longer able to stay here they would have to all leave to a new shop somewhere else.

"You bet he will, even if I have to step in and do something about it." Kiarina giggled. T-Chan had already promised not to try to devour her uncle anymore, although he had never said anything about gnawing on his legs…

"Hey T-Chan, where are we going to explore tonight?" Kiarina asked leaning over to whisper in T-Chan's ear. T-Chan smirked and twisted slightly so that he could reach behind him to wrap an arm around her waist to pull her down next to him.

"Tonight's a full moon; there are many truly fascinating places to explore on a night such as this. Tonight we will go outside to explore a part of Chinatown that can only be seen on the night of the full moon." Kiarina shivered in excitement and anticipation as she nuzzled T-Chan's neck kissing him softly there causing T-Chan to wrap his arm around her a little tighter pulling her nearly right under him.

"I'll follow you wherever you go; I know I'm going to be safe if you're around." T-Chan chuckled.

"You're a Totetsu now… more than a match for anything these foolish mortals could possibly throw your way."

"So you say… but still… I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you." She whispered her lips less than an inch away from his ear. T-Chan lowered his head to kiss her collarbone. There was still a faint scar trailing down from where she had been cut.

"Don't remind me… I nearly lost you that night. But as for tonight; there is a true marvel to be seen, most of the magical creatures who live hidden here come out to greet the princess in the moon." Kiarina remembered her mother once reading her a story when she was little about a girl in the moon; but she had always thought it to be just a story… Kiarina chuckled. She had realized that most of the bedtime stories she knew were actually true. "What's so funny?" T-Chan asked. Kiarina just smiled.

"I'll follow you wherever you go." She said again smiling as she nuzzled her head to his chest. In the past two weeks she had seen a side of this shop and Chinatown she had never imagined possible. Life was now one big adventure, and she had someone to share it with, forever…

* * *

Authors note: Well… hate to say this, but this would be the end of this story… -dives out of the way as T-Chan tries to tackle her- hey now stop that! Again thanks go out to all my readers who stuck with me through my first fan fic, without you this story would not exist now while this story is over I am planning to pick it up again, you know make a part two I suppose you could say… but its only a thought. I do hope that you will still RR and tell me what you think of my first story as a whole and if I should make a second chapter to this story or not or just give up on the whole fan fic writing in general -p. I'd really appreciate it, thanks again everyone! Till next time 


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